Tipping the Scales

[Kira]

Kithium Horde: Arriving by the rail, The Valderan Military response would consist of veterans of the Xagreu war under the command of Elder Tzu. Equipped with a mix of Old World weaponry and more than versed in its use, operations on the Kith front would run counter to their reckless bloodletting. Towns and villages behind the Kith front were quickly fortified along major logistic lines, leaving the Republic's forces to act as a hard wall against the invaders. Trenches, ditches and mines were hastily set up, with a marrish engineer detachment having been assigned to aid in the defenses. Relocated from their homebase, several Siskin FC-2’s were assigned to the front with the Serpent Prototype sent to lead them. Pomaz-import Tankettes would be sent alongside with what cannonry could be spared, with hillsides, brush and urban areas used to hide in ambush. Distanced from front lines would be small mobile hospitals, serving many of the wounded already coming off the line.


Forces Sent:

100k Standard infantry
30k Heavy Infantry
1k Field Artillery
600 Howitzers
300 Mortar Artillery
2k Supply trucks
600 Armored Cars
400 Tankettes
20 Siskin Biplane
1 Serpent Fighter
1k Marrish Engineers 
-

Pocket Front

With the attacks on the ‘Pocket’ well underway, another detachment would be sent out by the Republic, commanded by Field General Tyrann. Consisting of a mix of leftover veterans and newly trained recruits, the forces would be sent to link up with Xaspeshi command. Defenses would be erected alongside rail and road lines approaching the front, with a deep network of trenches and underground tunnels being established. When arriving at the Smeynia border, Valderan forces would quickly pledge their support against the shared foe, with forces split between defense preparations and aiding the natives. Extra equipment would be given to locals as well, a rally call being made as the Valderans marched towards war.



Forces Sent:

120k Standard Infantry
20k Heavy Infantry
1000 Field Artillery
400 Howitzers
200 Mortars
1.5k Supply trucks

600 Armored Cars

200 Tankette
20 Siskin Biplanes

Blue front: Kithium
Red:Pocket

[EpicToaster1]

Kithium Horde Front

Kithium League

The initial attacks were total blunders. Several forces would fall for the traps, resulting in heavy losses at the outbreak. But word would soon spread about the tactics and the armies would back off, remaining for more static fronts than the assaults they'd been doing. As Valderan forces arrived, the fronts would slowly change from hastily dug ditches near the fronts to more proper trenches. Artillery bombardments would remain a problem for everyone, the Galran artillery able to fire much further than the Kithium and Valderan cannons. Better underground bunkers for sleeping and operations were the only choice if they wanted to remain within range of their own artillery. The towns behind the front would attempt to be evacuated, but the locals were very steadfast in remaining in their familial homes. Though, these towns and villages would become the sites of the refugees fleeing the Galrans, choosing to flee than be slaughtered.

All the while, the biggest issue that quickly pushed to the forefront was the difference in rail gauges between Valdera and the Kithium. The small town of Hoius Vicus in the Kithium Horde becoming a major choke point for the supply lines as people and goods would have to be manually transferred between trains to get it deeper into the Kithium League. Otherwise, it was a several day journey through the untamed countryside between the two countries on dirt roads.

Within the trenches, Valderan and Kithium officers clashed, the Kithium refusing to listen to orders from the Valderans on how to handle its military. Orders had to be relayed by both sides for anything to get done, making the already chaotic scene even more chaotic.

Galra

With their original tactics slowly becoming less and less fruitful, the fronts were reinforced more properly to account for the changing frontlines. But, the light tanks would continue their treacherous assaults through the no man's land between the fronts, sweeping in quick to assault a position with several shots before making its way back to their own front to refuel and restock. Special attention was focused on observed artillery positions, trying to break the lesser countries' defenses before they could get better equipment to replace it.

With the change in tactics, some ten Galran aircraft were deployed to fight the Valderan aircraft and strafe the trenches when Valderan aircraft aren't around.

---

Inner Touli Front

Mushidabad

The pitiful military of Mushidabad really isn't faring well against the onslaught of Galran soldiers. Not many were required to be sent in, their superior equipment and advanced tactics able to easily sweep around the lesser prepared Mushi army. The hardest part for either side was the complete lack of any form of infrastructure that was more advanced than dirt roads. Only the capital and some major cities had cobblestone roads. The Galran forces were able to easily penetrate deep into the heart of Mushidabad, surrounding towns and cities, laying siege to the larger ones and directly assaulting the smaller ones. Men, women, and children were slaughtered in their homes. Some men even took some women as prizes before continuing on to the next town.

It would seem that, with no reinforcements coming, they would be forced to live a conquered life for the foreseeable future.

Xashuece

Xashuece would be caught the most off guard by the invasion. With minimal roads through the center of the densely forested country, military units in the East couldn't even get the message they were being invaded until the Galrans had already conquered the West. The smallest air of decorum seemed to follow these Galrans. Taking Xashi soldiers prisoner when they surrendered and ordering town guards to stand down, they seemed to be more delicate with the Xashi than their Northern counterparts in Mushidabad. The Xashi Army would move to the two roads that connected the East and West, taking defensive positions to stop the advancing Galrans and hoping the central forests would be enough to stop any major advances from passing to their positions.

Smeynia

Similar to Xashuece, the Smeynians would be caught off guard, though their military was always kept on some level of alert due to their suspicion of their Southern neighbors and the observed aggressive tendencies of their Eastern neighbors. The Galran invasion would be met with panic at first, but soon the Smeynian Army would be marching through the country to the West. Defensive trenchlines were dug into the countryside, the edge of the dense forests being the last line of defense for the Galran invasions as the land opened up to the wide open, chilly plains of the Southern Xerashin Plains and the Northern Kithic Tundra. Their lines would soon be bolstered by the Valderan and Xaspeshi forces that would join them among the trenches.

Robretho

For now, Robretho, upon hearing the war calls of its neighbors, would hastily mobilize its tiny military of rangers and set up a defensive perimeter of their country. Their only hope was they would be small enough to not be laid siege to by any large force so they could hold out on their own.

Xaspesh

With no immediate threat to their own country, their forces would push forward to protect the nations of Smeynia and Xashuece, joining the Smeynian and Valderan Armies in the trenches while advisors and some small detachments would be sent to aid where needed in Xashuece. With the nation's lack of infrastructure, the militaries of both countries worried they wouldn't be able to keep food supplies readily available, so keeping the Xashpeshi presence low seemed like the best option for everyone.

[Kira]

With the flight of the Galran aircraft, the Valderan pilots would take to the skies to face them. Flights of three would often rotated between what refueling stations could be establisned alongside the frontline, wht aircraft reporting both hostile gunnery emplacements and armor movements alongside the developing no-mans-land. The push of Galran armor would be met with what reistiance the Valderans could offer, often times infantry reliying on dynamite slings to would the 'metal beasts'.

The Mil'Nor's own armor sent out on minor offesnives alongside the border, with the cannon that the Mil'Nor had on hand being used often times in range of Galran counterbattery if only to ensure the accture fire of the Valderan shots. These offensives would see a rapid firing of the Valderan cannon, with the guns soon being hurridly packed and hooked to truck for relocation. Once the last shell had landed within the target zone, Valderan Tankette and armored car units would attempt a push, with infantry using the veichles as cover from machinegun fire.

The push of the Galrans would see the reinforcement of move Valderan troops via rail, those arriving quickly dispatched to reinfore what manpower had been lost thus far. Plans were drawn up for additional reserves to be sent along the next season, with much of the nation's 'peacetime' forces now depolyed in full

-
Reinforcements:
80k Standard Infantry

[Artsy Astra]

Following their arrival on the Valderan coast, Marrish forces were directed to head South to assist with the Kithium front in Touli. Once the entire Expeditionary Force had arrived they would begin assisting where they could.
Reinforcements:
4,000 Special (2,000 Beast Hunter),
35,000 Standard,
12,000 Heavy,
100 Mortars,
100 Field Arty,
50 Armored Cars,
and 15 Tankettes.

[EpicToaster1]

Kisona, Lithium League

Fighting was still fierce in the frozen plains of the Kithium League, especially around the Northern city of Kisona. The last city on the Kithium rail network, it had a lot of strategic importance for the Galrans for getting easier supply lines deeper into the country.

The northern district of the city was almost completely leveled from artillery fire, only the shells of stone buildings and the piles of burnt ashes of wooden buildings littering the landscape while Kithium and Valderan soldiers bunkered where they could while Galran artillery continued to pummel the landscape while soldiers took potshots towards the Kithium trenchline. Valderan artillery hidden amongst the rubble returned fire, but with minimal cover the artillery wasn’t as dense as the Galrans.

Soon Marrish forces found themselves deployed to this area.

Casualties

Galra
60 Standard Infantry
1 Howitzer Artillery
2 Mortar Artillery

Kithium
190 Standard Infantry
820 Civilians

Valdera
170 Standard Infantry
4 Field Artillery
6 Mortar Artillery

---

Habe, Lithium League

On the other side of the country in the depths of the untamed frozen prairie, Kithium soldiers began to falter against the stronger Galran forces. With terrible infrastructure, dwindling food and bullets, and injured piling up, the Kithium were fighting up a metaphorical cliff-face. With constant orders of retreat, the casualties managed to remain low, but the Galran forces eagerly gobbled up where the Kithium forces left.

Casualties

Galra
20 Standard Infantry

Kithium
30 Standard Infantry
50 Light Infantry

[Kira]

The fresh troops were quickly asigned to prepare for a counter-assault against the Galran invaders, now that support from the old world had arrived. Three spearheads of Valderan tankettes and armored cars would be prepared to strike the invaders, with the general staff working hand in hand with their Kith and Marrish allies to see to the approriate logistical support needed to for the assault. On the backlines of the allied side, Valderan field hospitals and medic stations would prepare for the new waves of wounded to that would soon be coming, with trucks doubling for food and ammo transport to the front, only to carry the dead and wounded back.

The Republic's planes would be vital in the defense being given as the Galrans advanced, the Siskin fighters running both interception and order transport duties, the Serpant Prototype leading the efforts to swat down what air power the Galrans had sent, with some planes even dropping crude bombs on opposing trenchlines.

[Artsy Astra]

Marrish forces would likewise prepare for a combined arm assault, the Marines and Beast Hunters would be the heavy spearhead with Tankettes supporting them. Armored cars would act as mobile firesupport and light cover for army elements as they pushed into Galran lines. Thhe Tankettes would prioritize machine gun nests and field gun positions with rapid 37mm HE fire and liberal hosing of .30-06. The Armored cars would use their .50's to shred what non trench cover items they could and put them out of commission. Marrish grenadiers/signalmen would prepare their harpoon guns turned grenade launchers for similar tasks.

Marrish artillery sounded off in a chorus of lead and steel. While counter battery efforts were prioritized, a focused smoke barrage to cover the assaults initial push and mortar shelling of the enemy trenches and fortifications was planned and executed alongside the offensive thrust. It was hoped the high arcs of the mortars would prove more ideal for inflicting as many casualties as possible to the trenches garrison, landing in the trench itself rather than simply destroying it and blowing up around its defenders.

[EpicToaster1]

Smeynia

After months of long fighting, the capital of the Plains Tribe of Smeynia would finally fall to the Galran forces. Galran troops found themselves on the steps of the capital, replacing the nation's flag with their own. Several thousand soldiers laid down their arms, being taken prisoner by the Galran military and their equipment seized.

Unit Type	Initial	Killed in Action	Became POW	Other*
Spearmen	2,000	1,800	150	50
Warriors	2,000	2,000	0	0
Archers	2,000	900	1,000	100
Cavalry Spearmen	4,000	3,500	200	300
Cavalry Archers	4,000	2,100	1,500	400
Cavalry Swordsmen	2,000	1,900	100	0
Trebuchets	7 - 70 Soldiers	7 - 40 Soldiers	30 Soldiers	0
Light Infantry	25,000	16,400	5,100	3,500
Dragoon Infantry	1,000	900	100	0

*Other includes those who survived and escaped capture, deserted, etc.

On top of the military casualties, Smeynia has suffered 108,450 civilian casualties.

With Smeynia capitulating, this has freed up 62,000 Standard Infantry, 20 Field Artillery, and 25 Howitzer Artillery, to be deployed to other front lines further south in the Kithium League. They'd also begin the proper construction of airbases to allow for more aircraft to be utilized along the southern fronts.

Xashuece

Months of heavy fighting to protect their confederation were found to be in vain as the newly acting government called for a ceasefire and sued for peace with Galra, the original government being destroyed and killed in a bombing run of the capital only weeks prior. The nation was badly beaten, and their will to continue the slog shattered and eroded away. The remainder of the military's equipment was seized, depleting the nation of much of a fighting comeback.

Unit Type	Initial	Killed in Action	Became POW	Other*
Warriors	3,000	1,000	600	1,400
Archers	5,000	2,100	1,200	1,700
Swordsmen	5,000	4,200	600	200
Cavalry Spearmen	4,500	4,500	0	0
Cavalry Swordsmen	5,000	3,800	500	700
Light Infantry	40,000	15,800	6,700	17,500
Dragoon Infantry	8,000	600	200	7,200

*Other includes those who survived and escaped capture, deserted, etc.

On top of the military casualties, Xashuece has suffered 431,860 civilian casualties, predominantly from famine.

With Xashuece capitulating, this has freed up 85,000 Standard Infantry, 22,000 Light Infantry, 80 Howitzer Artillery, and 4 Heavy Tanks to be redeployed Eastward into Xaspesh.

---

The news of the two capitulations were broadcast throughout Galran channels unencrypted to demoralize the other Toulian states. While the news would reach Galra proper, Touli was such an unimportant area of the world to them that the news was relegated to the fifth page of their newspapers.

---

Kisona, Lithium League

With the lack of cover in the Northern districts of Kisona, the Marrlan artillery that was set up had to have their own cover built for them, making their locations noticeable to Galran recon. The trenches continued to be pummeled by artillery fire, now with much of it aiming further behind the lines at the longer-range Marrlan artillery positions.

Before the assault began, the Valderan and Marrish officers were approached by Kithium officers. "This will be the only attempt we can manage. We're running low on munitions, we cannot sustain an offensive for long if it doesn't go well. If it fails, we'll be forced to abandon the city. We're beginning full evacuations of the rest of the city now, just in case." With that, their own troops would get into position alongside the Valderans and Marrish soldiers.

The smoke screen worked to catch the Galrans off guard, obscuring the view of the ground troops over the no man's land. However, the 20 siskins in the air did barely anything to the operating 30 Galran aircraft who could easily out-maneuver them even though they themselves were outdated Kermit 1s [25 total], and were no match for the early-model Lancers [5 total]. The crude bombs managed to land a few targets, but most either detonated too soon in the air, would fail to detonate on impact and give soldiers enough time to protect themselves before it'd explode, or fail to work all-together. The Galran aircraft were able to run recon over the smoke, alerting the artillery of positions for the Marrish artillery. The Serpent prototype was able to provide a better fight against the Kermits, able to get two kills before being chased off by the Lancers.

The armored cars proved to be a formidable force against the small arms fire from soldiers, only heavy units having the capability to hit through the armor. The bigger threat to the armored cars were the machine gun emplacements, their larger caliber and full metal jacket design able to puncture the armor and hit vital components or the crews themselves, the cars becoming very visible targets for the last thousand feet of no man's land as the smoke becomes too thin before reaching the trenches.

The mortars and howitzers continued their attentions towards the lines behind the smoke, but the field artillery would see itself being repurposed to fire on the grounds just after their trenches. While the machine guns worked against the armored cars, their bullets would ricochet or embed into the armor of the tankettes, with only few successes at penetrating through the armor. And so the field guns had to be directed to fire directly upon the tankettes to break their armor.

However, any troops that attempted to cross were still gunned down by the soldiers and machine gun nests, filling the no man's land with more blood and shells than before.

---

Kapuri, Lithium League

In the Southwest, the Kithium forces were still retreating from the Galran advances. Town after town was passed, villagers fleeing where there could while others hunkered down to protect themselves from Galrans who continued their march South. Lieutenant Palnio of the 5th Division and Lieutenant Banni of the 11th Division slowly got more and more out of touch with each position they set up then had to retreat from. Losses were mounting before Lieutenant Palnio decided they needed to try and bait the Galrans to turn around. He'd pull his men off further East, opening a gap between the 5th and the 11th.

The 11th saw a hill towards their West, believing that'd be a better position to fight from them on the level ground in front. They'd pull off towards the West, making the gap even wider between the two sides. The Galrans, seizing the opportunity with their superior speed, would pass between the two fronts, some divisions remaining in between to keep them apart while the rest sped off towards the Southern sea, aiming to split the continent in half by the end of the week.

[EpicToaster1]

Casualties for the previous post

---

Casualties in Kisona

Galra:
590 Standard Infantry Killed
840 Standard Infantry Infantry
16 Field Gun Artillery Destroyed
5 Howitzer Artillery Destroyed
4 Mortar Artillery Destroyed
8 Kermit 1 Light Bi-Plane Fighters Downed

With the developments of the front, the Galran command would call HQ with requests for more anti-tank weapons. And the possibility for their own armor to push back.

Kithium:
30 Light Infantry Killed
60 Light Infantry Infantry
80 Standard Infantry Killed
20 Standard Infantry Infantry
1,745 Civilians

Despite their allies' plans to charge the enemy lines, the Kithium would not push beyond their trenches due to their fear of their drying munitions reserves.

Valdera:
490 Standard Infantry Killed
910 Standard Infantry Infantry
190 Heavy Infantry Killed
400 Heavy Infantry Infantry
10 Field Gun Artillery Destroyed
14 Howitzer Artillery Destroyed
6 Mortar Artillery Destroyed
34 Armored Cars Destroyed
21 Tankettes
6 Siskin Light Bi-Plane Fighters Downed

Marrlan:
640 Standard Infantry Killed
1,010 Standard Infantry Infantry
200 Heavy Infantry Killed
170 Heavy Infantry Infantry
70 Special Infantry Killed
40 Special Infantry Infantry
60 Beast Hunters Killed
180 Beast Hunters Infantry
6 Field Gun Artillery Destroyed
9 Mortar Artillery Destroyed
11 Armored Cars
5 Tankettes

---

Casualties in Kapuri

Galra:
None

Kithium:
126 Civilians

---

---

Total Casualties to date

Galra:
650 Standard Infantry Killed
880 Standard Infantry Infantry
16 Field Gun Artillery Destroyed
6 Howitzer Artillery Destroyed
6 Mortar Artillery Destroyed
8 Kermit 1 Light Bi-Plane Fighters Downed

Kithium:
80 Light Infantry Killed
90 Light Infantry Infantry
300 Standard Infantry Killed
220 Standard Infantry Infantry
2,691 Civilians

Valdera:
660 Standard Infantry Killed
1,600 Standard Infantry Infantry
190 Heavy Infantry Killed
400 Heavy Infantry Infantry
14 Field Gun Artillery Destroyed
14 Howitzer Artillery Destroyed
12 Mortar Artillery Destroyed
34 Armored Cars Destroyed
21 Tankettes
6 Siskin Light Bi-Plane Fighters Downed

Marrlan:
640 Standard Infantry Killed
1,010 Standard Infantry Infantry
200 Heavy Infantry Killed
170 Heavy Infantry Infantry
70 Special Infantry Killed
40 Special Infantry Infantry
60 Beast Hunters Killed
180 Beast Hunters Infantry
6 Field Gun Artillery Destroyed
9 Mortar Artillery Destroyed
11 Armored Cars
5 Tankettes

[Kira]

"Report"
The commanding voice of Elder Tzu struck out from his seat in the bridge of the Valderan command airship. Flying high over the Kithium Capital, the vessel was both a command ship and outlook over the city, it's dizzying height over the countryside giving the Valderan command staff an unparalleled view of the world below. The past several months of fighting had seen a flurry of supplies and manpower shuffled towards the encroaching front, the Valderans working to dig tunnel after defensive emplacement on the path towards the Kithium capital.

Saluting his commander, Sky Captain Sugo stood with his arms behind his waist, the much smaller Mil'Nor having to crane his head skyward to properly address the Elder.
"Our forces have had difficulty handling ganglank armor, but otherwise some damage has been done to the hostile forces. Per communications with the Capital, a fresh supply of gunnery and aircraft are to arrive to aide our defensive efforts. Twenty new full production model Serpents are to arrive within the week, alongside their trained pilots and support crew from our airbase training efforts. Commodore Tailstrong has given his praise of our efforts so far in the airwar against the Galran, with the Deacon eager for our new weapons to be deployed."

"Efforts will need to be made to slow every avenue of advance the Galarans have. Have our supplies rationed out to the Kith alongside our own forces, and see about doubling those requests for deliveries to the capital. We are going to turn this place into the rock that will break the spirit of these invaders. For our forces on the front, they are to begin burning everything they cannot carry when retreating. See what can be done to get the Kith to follow suit, as I'm sure they will offer some pathetic protest about the material even when death is on the horizon."

"Of course sir. I shall depart at once. May the Allfather guide us through." The Elder gave a slow nod in response, the pilot marching off to disseminate the orders. Within days the reployments would begin, with those troops not on the frontline frantically working to redouble what trenchwork and stockpiles had been constructed, with the Valderans doing what they could to provide for their allies with imported goods and weaponry by rail and truck. Civilians would be escorted away from the encroaching frontlines as best as possible, with those refugees even being shipped to Valdera along the rail.
~
Reinforcements:
120 Tankettes
1000 Trucks
300 Armored Cars
1200 Field Artilery
1000 Howizter Artilery
80k Heavy Infantry
40 Serpant Fighters