Battle of Vladostok

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Shah forces marching South to meet the invading Galran forces

The largest army in Ouhiri was on the move at last, Galra had carved up the South of Seleucidinia with little resistance but it would be here in a war front of nearly 14 miles wide near the farming town of Vladostok that the two massive forces would meet. 

6 million troops of the Shah's army marched on foot, draining creeks of fresh water and eating metric tons of rationed potatoes, radishes and some salted pork. The lucky ones rode on horses and the real unlucky ones rode on the poorly made Ordure truck, being rocked harshly as it met every depression in the poorly made Sele roads with violent rocking motions. 

Most were walking on foot, donkeys pulled wagons and carts full of supplies, food, ammunition and some pulled artillery guns. Leading this massive horde was Alfonse Malatov, a noble of the upper class and graduate of the Shah's personal military academy. His chest was adorned with medals he never really earned and his uniform was pressed and clean. It stuck out compared to the cheaply mass produced infantry uniforms everyone else wore, a certain level of ignorance flowed in the minds of the Sele military, they weren't really aware of how deadly their opponent was. 

They settled in the town of Vladostok and camped around it creating a new city of tents and hungry mouths that began draining the town of its resources. The people obeyed and did as they were told, peasants had no rights in the shahdom. They knew better than to reject a soldier's demand, as they consumed the town of its food and whatever drink it had. The Galran forces South of the town began setting up for the opening day of what would be the first major battle between Galra and Seleucidinia. 

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It started horribly for the Shah's forces, Galra was well entrenched and had long reaching howitzer batteries pummeling the town and forcing the Sele to assault the Galrans directly. Once they crossed a small creek they would be forced to move uphill facing Galran machine gun nests where the poorly trained infantry would be slaughtered in the open. As they day pressed on, Malatov ordered the assault to continue, infantry flooded across the creek and found their comrades torn to pieces as mortars now forced them out of cover. It didn't take long for morale to plummet as officers bellowed out orders to continue the assault on the hill. Infantry began running back across the creek to an annoyed Malatov, "Send those cowards back to the front!" he ordered. 

Galran artillery began to rock the town harder, Sele counter batteries fired wildly back in the general direction of the Galrans but truth be told these artillery groups were not properly trained and simply blind aiming their guns toward the South. They didn't hit any Galrans. Malatov has manpower, he ordered more and more to assault the Galran lines, sending hundreds of thousands across a 14 mile stretch to assault the Galrans. It was a sight to behold, waves of Sele soldiers charging into what would be several entrenched machine guns and riflemen waiting for them. 

Sele troops fired wildly into the general vicinity where they were being shot at but again, weren't aiming and missed. The large horde was only really causing an issue in that the Galrans spent ammo and desperately needed more. The town hospital was flooded with wounded, within seconds the doctor reported he was out of proper bandages and medicine, he couldn't treat everyone at once and the local Ux Voshoz chapter was recruited to help. Some received help, most would bleed out cold on the floor or the ground never being tended to. 

The sun began to set on the first day and Sele forces withdrew not gaining anything from the Galrans. General Malatov annoyed blamed the cowardice of the men for failing to take the enemy out, Galran artillery continued to pulverize their position forcing the general to pull his command further North. civilians would flee North, traveling up the muddy roads to the populated Central region and North. "Cowardly farmers, let them run." The General scoffed. 

More Selecudinian troops would die, doing little harm to the Galrans. Day 1 of the battle was already a poor sign of what was to come. 

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The Vladostok counter offensive had now long stretched over 45 miles of open warfront with the town centered slightly in the southern center. Shah infantry were being slaughtered by mechanized horrors of the Galran military and outright better armaments than what they had brought with them.

After a week of bloody fighting the Seleucidinian forces had lost nearly 100,000 men, another 250,000 were injured and had to be carted off North. The town was overrun with bleeding and dying men, the chief deacon of the Voshoz chapel was overwhelmed and unable to treat anymore wounded soldiers.

General Malatov began to realize he was now losing ground as Galran forces began pushing the lines slowly wrapping around the town itself as heavy artillery bombardments kept his men from being safe in any shelter they could find. Entire legions of soldiers were now utterly broken as well, watching several hundred of their countrymen cut down by Galran machine guns and tank rounds would shake the hardest man to a shivering wake of his former self. Sele forces had two options, stay here and be brutalized by a more modern better equipped force or retreat into the central steppe.

It was something that turned Malatov's stomach to water, he had to tell the Shah they failed to push Galra out of the South.

Shah forces attempting another assault on Galran lines, the mass human assaults have resulted in horrid losses

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Spring was coming to an end, the hotter air began to stifle and oppress everything it touched, a deep green permeated the Seleucidinian countryside for miles and miles, dotted with small villages and towns. Muddy roads that stretched out connecting them. 

Today those roads were full of fleeing civilians, farmers, merchants anyone trying to head North. 

The Shah army was breaking at Vladostok, after weeks of letting Seleucidinia assault their lines and wasting hundreds of thousands of lives, Galra pushed forward. Using their large light tank fleet and a few Vindicator medium tanks. 

They butchered Shah troops attempting to hold their position before a mass retreat broke out. Malatov was forced to flee his headquarters after pitifully attempting to force his troops to stand their ground against the mechanized nightmare, overhead Galran bombers and fighters brought death from above shredding men fleeing in the open field with no cover at all. Galran pilots laughed as they staifed the fleeing men cutting 10 to 12 at a time. The Galran striker light tank, a glorified armored machine gun nest proved especially deadly at breaking the Seleucidinians. 

Some of the tanks would fire so much they either ran out of ammo or overheated their guns. 

Galran infantry moving into Vladostok would find the nearly 300,000 wounded Seleucidinians abandoned and despite the pleas of the arch deacon who was trying his best to tend to them. The Galran executed them all, bayoneting them in their cots. 

"How can you do this!? Our god Vozhoz has decree ahahhgg" the deacon looked down to see a bloodied blade sticking through his chest, a Galran soldier twisted it forcing the deacon to his knees to witness them burning the chapel. "Silence Apostate, you preach taint and sin." the soldier said before shoving the blade into the Deacon again killing him. 

Galra would begin a large drive into Southern Seleucidinia, one that was now largely unopposed as the Shah's army fled North in a broken unorganized mass. 

Galran Striker light tank