Siege of Heriss

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The sounds of gunfire and artillery explosion had creeped toward the seat of Bordhan for the last several days without end, the warming air of spring was allowing Grinvel to make breakthroughs in the front line against the Marrish forces. They now reached the outskirts of the city of Heriss, prepared to take it in the global war.

20,000 standard infantry
10,000 heavy infantry
500 special infantry
5,000 mechanized standard infantry
200 light tanks
100 tankettes
50 armored cars
1,000 light infantry
400 howitzers
230 mortars
200 field guns

As with a lot of cities, the first thing the people of Heriss were greeted with were the Grinvel bombers flying overhead. No longer just biplane bombers but new medium bombers that carried larger payloads and began dropping them across the city to cause panic and hinder defenders. 

Grinvelian infantryman rushing toward the outer city limits of Heriss

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What response could be mustered attempted to meet the horde now approaching the city. The Bordhanian city's militia entirely broke ranks and ran taking their families and choice possessions with them leaving only the professional army and a negligible amount of disciplined veterans to stay and fight. Civilians were organized as best as possible and a proper evacuation began of all who had stayed behind.
8,000 Standard Infantry
4,000 Heavy Infantry
15 Armored Cars
10 Tankettes
100 Howitzer Artillery
120 Field Artillery
200 Mortar Artillery

The Air Force, now on alert, was called in to assist where possible and disrupt enemy bombing attempts.
10 Fighter Biplanes
15 Heavy Biplanes
10 Bomber Biplanes

Further Reinforcement from the heartland was requested and an additional 4,000 Heavy Infantry and 2,000 Standard Infantry were on the way.

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Grinvelian bombers tore the city apart while Marrish fighters approached them forcing the bombing run to end early. Grinvish Lubrock A11 monofighters scrambled to establish aerial supremacy beginning a large dogfight over the skies of Heriss.

On the ground Grinvelian infantry and tankettes rushed the city engaging any defenders they encountered, intense firefights on the outskirts of the city would alert any civilians still in the city that the Grinvelian army was coming. Heavier units awaited nearby but remained on standby so infantry and smaller tankettes could expose Marrish defenders first.

Howitzers and field guns would provide long range support firing on marked positions where the enemy chose to hold.

A force of 8,000 standard infantry, 400 light infantry and 20 tankettes, 50 light tanks would swing West to flank and enter the city while another 900 heavy infantry, 300 standard infantry and 10 armored cars hit the Eastern section. The battle line would be a horseshoe wrapping the city but left an opening for civilians to retreat and cause traffic issues for the Marrish to send reinforcements.

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Marrish and Bordhanian fighters would hold as long as they could on the outskirts. More time for reserve forces to lay traps and block avenues of movement. All forces in contact with the enemy would try and force further delays, as they made a slow fighting retreat into the urban sprawl.

Getting the call to rotate into a new AO, the airforce would run a few final missions before turning to leave for Nellrae. Seeing their airforce leave dealt a blow to defender morale, but they were steadfast in their duty and pressed on. The idea of retreat now tickled the edges of their minds.

Defenders would shift to spread their defensive line, ending up thin as the enemy had surrounded them. Holes in the line were sealed by using explosives and artillery to collapse buildings on roads and make areas impassible to vehicles.

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Casualties:

Marrlan: 5 fighter biplanes, 350 standard infantry, 50 heavy infantry, 10 armored cars, 20 howitzer artillery, 40 field artillery.
Grinvel: 7 monoplane fighters, 4 medium bombers, 400 standard infantry, 50 heavy infantry, 20 tankettes.

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After weeks of heavy fighting and demoralization, a retreat was called as the city fell around Bordhanian defenders. What little was able to be organized was left as the remainder of the forces were quickly encircled. The final defenders threw down their arms and began surrendering as Bordhans once bright beacon among the other major cities of Marrlan was snuffed out. The governor and highest ranking officer, a Major by the name of Karl Hearring, walked out of their command center to begin talks as over 2,500 Standard Infantry, and 1,000 Heavy Infantry who stayed behind to cover the retreat surrendered to Grinvel occupation while the rest made their escape. Most were purely Bordhanian, but some were a mix of Marrish and Grinvel ancestry. Many of the Bordhanians, including the Major, subscribed to a more extreme version of Langely Richardsons Castle Party beliefs. Some were racist towards the other species living within the republic, but all were a strange group of ultra-nationalist offshoots not endorsed by Langely. For all his trappings, he never ran on a racist platform and his hate or dislike for other nations ended at nationality and never reached ones species. Other Bordhanians among them were more moderate or followed other parties but they were the minority.

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The surrendering defenders were processed and placed onto trucks taking them back to the border, here they would be assigned as labor by the Grinvel military who were building roads, defensive placements and even repurposing the freedom wall as a supply depot into Marrlan.

Major Hearring was assigned as an interpreter to work with the Grinvelian occupation forces, mostly light infantry left to guard the city and its assets to feed the SU war effort while the more battle ready components of the military spread across Bordhan to seize it.

Major Hearring would answer to his Grinvelian counterpart, Major Antoine Schneider, Schneider overwatched the occupation of Marrlan as its military governor and was pushing captured Marrish into rigorous labor in rebuilding the captured cities and facilities to serve the Reich.

"You have one job, screw up, and you'll hang." Schneider informed Hearring.