The Grecian War (Detti vs. Maiz, Aristoma, Kovus and Anthia

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Detti Dominion forces had made massive gains in the initial weeks of the war, vast columns of soldiers took sprawls of territory from Kovus, Anthia and Aristoma. The Grecian states were simply ill prepared. 

But not Maiz. Maiz had been tempered by the Roskanan Revolution, close allies to Marrlan and Roskana and grafted together a cohesive combined command of the Grecians against Detti. Formal resistance finally showed with Maiz leading the defense of the Greeks, the Maiz DID appointed Major General Sanders as defender of the Grecians, commander of the free Greeks and chief military representative to the resistance. 

Sanders was a veteran of the revolution and border wars, a hardened country man that remained in the military and had a strong sense of duty. But even this toughen vet was shocked at the sheer scope of the war before him. Everything was being hit. Koi, Marrlan, Roskana, the Grecians, Amali, Nevarra, Seleucidina the list went on. Madness consumed Ouhiri. 


To make matter worse for Sanders was the sheer fact the Anthians, Kovus and Aristomians had not prepared at all for a war, their militaries were in complete rout. It was until he arrived on top of a Maiz purchased TM-14 landship ordering them back into the fight. A long frontline was formed, trenches on the free Greek side as Sanders rushed them into forming any defensive structure he could while sending spare Maizian military equipment South. 

He had no idea the situation up North in Marrlan an Roskana, but for now, he needed to beat the Detti. 

Maizian forces mixed in the front with their fellow Greeks and began slowing down the Detti considerably, unlike their southern cousins, Maiz were fierce fighters. "Send them to hell and perdition!" many would call out, to the sheer shock of the Detti forces the massive shift from their enemy retreating in mass to holding the ground and throwing everything at them simply was something some Detti soldiers were not prepared for. 

Maiz forces charge against Detti troops in Dead-Fato forest. 

Detti troops found themselves in a hundred mile battle that stretched across the central Greek region. Most of the fighting in the dense and wet Dead-Fato rainforest. Detti troops were mercilessly ambushed and torn apart by defenders. The thick jungle foliage gave defenders places to hide before opening fire on approaching Dominon forces. The battle of Dead-Fato was already becoming a massive endeavor where frontline generals requested additional troops and air support, with Detti not realizing that the rail lines feeding her would soon be cut off this decision to pour more into the assault and keep progressing offensively would be an issue later. For now, Detti was making progress in the rainforest forcing Sanders and the Free Greeks to fall back deeper in the thicket. 


The next state of the war came in the air between Maiz led Newman Strike craft MR-3 squadrons against Detti WC30 Farrow fighters. 

The air war over the Grecian states between Maiz and Detti fighters. Detti forces using loaned Grinvel fighters. 

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"Zakynthos"

Sanders over looked the massive battlefront he now managed, days in and the Free Greeks were still struggling to stop Detti. They had a massive military force but getting it to maintain the front against Detti who had been preparing for years with SU support was proving difficult. The fighting in the rain forest was hard and full of dangers not pertaining to enemy soldiers, mosquitos ravaged FC ranks with disease and illness crippling them. Wildlife also made fighting extremely hazardous. 

But the advantage for now was that Detti could not use the bulk of their armored divisions in the thick swamp and jungles of the region. 

Which is why, they were heading to Zakynthos. A city built in the rainforest of Kovus, Zakynthos was a wealthy miracle of engineering that allowed man to traverse into the jungles and harvest from it. But also was a clear road into Northern Kovus surpassing the thicket of rain forest and a clear road to the capital of Kovus. Sanders had to stop them here, he was pulling over 100,000 Maiz troops to the city while Kovus relocated a majority of their military to stop Detti. 

"If we fall here, they'll storm the capital and have access to extensive rail networks and highways that go around Dead-Fato. We have to stop them here and force them to go through the rainforest on foot. Those damn tanks in an open field will destroy us." Sanders told the other Greek commanders, it had to be here where the invasion was halted or the Greeks would fall. 

Detti was amassing what tanks and tankettes not sent to Amali to storm Zakynthos, the amount of success in the few spring months given to them made the war seem like some fun adventure. Young men spoke of the empire that would finally stand under the Detti diamond, their march was done with several companies singing Detti war songs of old warriors and glories of old. 

Sanders had his men work around the clock, forming sandbags, digging exterior trenches and preparing for the defense of the city and putting what Marrish built tanks they had to battle the Detti armor coming their way. He also risked the entire Maiz and Kovus air forces here, it had to be here he won or the entire war would be fought in the open where Detti's SU tech advantage could sweep them away. 

Free Greek forces preparing defenses for the city of Zakynthos

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Intense gunfire unending, the Detti assault on Zakynthos came pounding the Free Grecian front line, tank engagements in the streets and outer edge of the city destroyed sections of the city. 

FC forces held on for dear life as Detti troops pressed harshly against them, whirling bullet sounds flew overhead and struck all around. "Get in there! Dislodge them now!" shouted Detti commanders. Fighting erupted from the city to the exterior rainforests near the city. Heavy losses on both sides impacted and slowed the Detti advance, the cool air of the oncoming winter made the most ideal fighting in the Grecian equator. 

The large stretch along the frontline of the Fato rainforest would see increased activity. Misaligned trenches would send fire teams of infantry over the top to assault one another resulting in bloody engagements. 

Detti began pulling new recruits to replenish their losses at the Northern front, high end military officials however started to notice a severe depletion of gasoline and certain munitions pushing for nation wide restrictions and seizures of materials. 

Maiz and Free Grecian forces at the front line 

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Marrish reinforcements poured to the front after making landfall. The instant clearance was given, gunned it for the jungle. Truck and tank drivers could be heard yelling, "To hell with this city shit, those jungles are fair game!" Some veterans had been cycled out from home to help equalize experience distribution. General Moore rode on the back of a TMJ-32 "Slug" and roused his men with words of fervor and rage. "These bastards think they can mess with not only us, but our brothers and sisters overseas? They can fuck right off! Let's send 'em back to hell where they belong!"

90% of Marrish forces would surge to the Fato rainforest battle with a few being split off (Marines 300, 1,000 Standard Infantry, 20 Armored Cars) to assist in the cities defense.

Marrish troops in trucks on their way to the front 5 miles out from the port.

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Fato forest

Entire stretches of the forest were leveled. Trench networks stretched out like tendrils where infantry on both sides relentlessly fired at one another, Free Greek forces hadn't made progress in months but neither did Detti, a dead end status quo persisted over the battlefield. The arrival of Marrish reinforcements changed that, Detti forces had to swiftly change tactics to more defensive postures and ordered artillery to fire more frequently. Detti machine guns and entrenched infantry were struggling to hold position, communication was sent down referring that enemy reinforcements had arrived and were pressing against the front line.

Detti vanguard units were rushed to the front to meet the Marrish but the intense firefight that awaited them would be hell.

Zakynthos

The city was pretty much destroyed when Marrlan arrived, intense urban fighting ripped entire buildings apart and streets were shredded forming ditches and holes where infantry would seek cover. Sander warmly welcomed the Marrish to the fight, "Thank Vozhoz you're here, we've been bleeding over this city and the surrounding forest for months now." He detailed that while Free Greek forces outnumbered the Detti, Detti simply had superior vehicle numbers and entrenched themselves in the Southern section of the city. While the Greeks welcomed the aid, Detti was pretty broken at the thought of fresh troops coming in. Their supplies were slowing down dramatically, gasoline was cut off as Koians shut down the rail lines, Galra had not per their promise at the beginning seized the Koian railways to keep supplies flowing.
A real concern struck the logistical corps hard with gasoline and food supplies, "The deficit is mounting and now these crab eaters come in? We haven't the proper stock for a real siege anymore generals we need to consider constriction of our lines to save supply flow."

It wasn't even that, Detti was fighting a three front war, the assault on Amali had dented itself against the Amalian Republic military and made no progress in six months. Nevarra was a drain, the desert folk seemed to avoid conflict. Detti would pull troops from the Nevarran front to the North to contend with Marrish intervention but more importantly take their supplies and vehicles.

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The rumble and squeak of engines and tracks would permeate the Fato Forest, as Marrish tanks moved towards enemy lines. Trees that originally made fighting difficult, were plowed over by the short but high torque tankettes. Infantry moved with these metal beasts like hunting dogs and their masters. Applying pressure where the other greek forces needed it, and starting new offensives themselves to keep Detti on the backfoot. Counter barrage fire echoed out to suppress and disorganize enemy indirect fire elements.


Marrish TMJ-32 "Slug" tankette pushing through trees and other brush toward an enemy trench line.

In the city, Marrish infantry acted as a QRF for friendly forces, supplementing them with additional manpower where possible and augmenting assaults with Marines and Armored Cars. Should further forces be needed, they would be slowly split from the main force in Fato.

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A level of desperation began to sink into the Detti armed forces, a front line stretching from the Fato forest to the city of Zakynthos began to dwindle the best fighters Detti had. Progress was turning into daily struggles to hold what gains they had against a massive coalition of Free Greek forces and Marrlan. 

Making matter worse were the Marrish tanks, they forced all Detti armored divisions to divert from the city and into open armored warfare where they were being outmatched 1 on 1. This caused significant consumption of fuel reserves and left Detti infantry companies in the city without their key advantage. 

The Northern lines were screaming communications to the South, begging for more forces and more supplies. But the horrid news was simple, there existed no further troops and supplies. The Southern advance into Amali was coming to an utter halt, Detti's invasion of the Republic was being slowly repelled and the promises of Galran and Grinvel supplies had failed to materialize. Detti was on its own, fighting a desperate war of attrition. 

Free Greek forces storming Detti positions in the Fato forest. 

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In the late spring of 1935, Detti armored units and tanks were dead where they stood, gasoline and Staol had literally dried up. Detti aircraft couldn't launch to engage enemy targets leaving the ground forces in a bitter and brutal slog at the front. Heavy spring rains turned the defensive trenches into flooded pits of water and sinking mud for anyone in them. Ammunition and food was also in short supply, Detti troops had been eating anything they could get their hands on including rats, dogs and local birds they would trap. 

Allied Greek forces pressed hard on the Detti lines, bolstered by Marrish armor and recent victories the Grecians nearly seized all of Zakynthos back and pressed the Detti out of the Fato forest. Detti officers all reported the same thing, devastating losses marred by large scale surrendering platoons and troops utterly broken by the lack of supplies and armored support. The last few lines of the front were held up by muddied trenches, machine guns and where the last armored units ran out of fuel. Pulled into dugouts as makeshift fortifications. Riders were sent on sickly horses South back to Detti, the lines were collapsing and the front would not last into the summer long. 

Detti faces losing the northern front, Detti soldier lost in shellshock in the Fato Forest

Meanwhile back in the capital, Pratkala, the King was enjoying a feast of roasted duck, potatoes, honey carrots and various other lavish foods. He was hosting his wealthy nobles at the royal palace, breaking out casks of wine and fine liquor. They were celebrating false promises made by the military that they were close to receiving Galran and Grinvelian aid. In the distance easily viewed by the large glass window overlooking the capital, large white flashes in the far distance implied a moving thunderstorm coming toward the capital. 

It wasn't a storm, it was the Amali army pushing the Detti forces back into the border which was just a few miles from the capital. 

A Detti soldier rode fast and hard up the road into the city carrying a vital message for the King, he was let into the palace and in his dirty uniform stormed into the party among the rich and wealthy nobles striding for the King. "Who let this rat in?" mocked one noble. 

The soldier approached the King, saluting him and handing him the wrapped up message. "Priority message from the front your grace." 

The King huffed, grabbing the message and reading it. His annoyance turning into panic, he felt his heart beating out of his chest and breathing becoming erratic. "What is it your grace?" asked one of the party goers, the King was silent still as he looked at the window seeing the flashes. The Amali army was mere days from the capital. They had smashed the Detti invasion force, the 200,000 troops sent into Amali lost drastically and were now at the border being torn apart at the forward defenses built as a precaution against the Republic. The report mentioned the drastic loss of tanks, armored cars and even an entire train due to fuel shortages, the King was realizing he was lied to. 

Several royal guards now realizing the weight of the situation approached the King, "Your grace, the Amali will be here soon, we need to leave. There's a train here with Staol still to take you and your family out." The King nodded, dropping his glass of wine and letting it shatter as the guards practically helped him walk out of the room. Not because he was drunk but because he was shocked. "What about us!?" cried a noble, panic set in as they all began to funnel out of the room and leave the palace. The capital was sent into a frenzy, millions of people began to pack up and leave realizing the warfront was mere days away. 

Detti troops in a fueless armored car near the Amali border, Amali Republican forces are just over the hill engaging the Detti army.

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General Bill Moore sat high in the commander's seat of his 'Slug' taking in the corpse of a forest laid out before him. The distant thump of artillery tickled his ears even behind the ear guards of his commander's cap. Marrish 75mm guns and 50mm mortars sounded off in an angry chorus with their Grecian brethren. He grimaced as he gave his driver a nudge with his foot in the center of his back to begin moving. He loaded a colored flare into an improvised mortar and fired it into the air, signaling another assault as more slugs joined by infantry poured out from their positions. News had hit of Nellraes siege, and the men and women of the expeditionary force were not only furious but determined to finish their duty in the Southern states. Not only were their cultural kin being slaughtered, but their countrymen at that a beacon of what their nation stood for now lay under the ire of Grinnish ire. To say the intensity of marrish operations kicked up would be an understatement. The usually more conservative assault tactics of Marrlan had quickly become a ferocious wall that properly met the Maizan fury and then some. Blood boiled at temperatures equalling the amount of Dettian blood spilled and it continued to climb.

Marrish Soldier reading a war publication relaying the state of the homefront while eating a crab cake ration with sauce.


With Detti's supply issues becoming more and more apparent, Marrish Mariens took full advantage and began spearheading assaults into weaker areas of the line. Shotgunners mobbed starved and undersupplied parts of trench lines with fury and swiftness. Roughly screening for the armor to further crack open defenses and roughly handle field guns pressed into direct-fire roles. Lessons learned from Ferville, the Homefront, and some of Moore's own observations. They continued to apply pressure wherever the other states needed help but continued to enact their own operations in an attempt to knock Detti out faster. The people of Marr were out for blood and they would get it one way or another. Battalion bands could be heard bolstering morale and fury with battle songs of olde even amongst the droning of explosions and gunfire.