war The Dark North

[Aurivizh]

Ministry of Defence – City Of Galvan – Skibbenon

16:53 – February 26th, 2023

Skibbenese winters were infamously barren. Blizzard after blizzard swept over the country, which almost never saw light in winter and never saw darkness in summer. Despite it still being late afternoon, the sun had already gone down more than 4 hours earlier. The streets of Galvan, even despite the harsh weather, had remained in a driveable state. Galvan was not a particularly large city, despite it being home to more than half of the Skibbenese population. There were no high rises, no skyscrapers, no nothing. Instead, it was kilometres upon kilometres of terraced houses, small apartment buildings and a city core, built around the main church of Galvan. Through the harsh weather, through the darkness and through the core of the city, a black car made its way to the building of the Ministry of Defence of Skibbenon.

Because of the small population of Skibbenon, most of its defence had been relegated to a certain foreign nation: Dolchland. The Skibbenese armed forces themselves had only 15,000 soldiers in service, whereas the Dolch had been supplying the same amount of soldiers, all by themselves. However, with wurldwide stability deteriorating, the Dolch armed forces had launched multiple appeals with the Skibbenese MoD to move more units over to Skibbenon. They had approved of such a move and over the last six months, Dolch presence in Skibbenon increased from 15,000 to fifty-thousand. While most of the Dolch units had been stationed near airbases and Galvan, the Defence Ministries of both Dolchland and Skibbenon had been trying the same goal; moving them to the Aurivizht border, and possibly removing the state which had been opposing Dolch and Anglian influence in Yeetland.

February twenty-sixth would be the day that they would finally decide on a plan.

Generalmajor Moritz Strauss had been assigned as commander of all Dolch and Skibbenese units in Skibbenon, formed together as the 5th Foreign Task Force. He had a scheduled meeting with his Skibbenese counterpart, who would in turn have to convince both the Skibbenese parliament and government that Aurivizh was indeed enough of a threat to the Dolch-Skibbenese friendship, hell, the Skibbenese state, that an invasion would be required and indeed justified. Strauss walked up the steps of the building of the Skibbenese Ministry of Defence, making sure he would not trip or slip on the ice. As he came up the stairs, the two soldiers on guard made sure to salute him, something to which he responded with a short salute. As he finally entered the building, he could take a breath of relief, no longer could he suddenly slip on the icy stairs. He knew where he had to be, and quickly made his way to the conference room on the third floor, where Akkituyok Trevaskis, General and Commander of the Skibbenese armed forces was waiting.

“You made it?” Trevaskis said, shaking the hand of his Dolch counterpart.

“Almost broke my legs on the stairs outside, but I did.” he responded, letting loose of the firm grip and gesturing towards a chair on the table. “Should we?”.

Without saying another word, both the men quickly sat down and grabbed folders. Topics ranging from units involved, the duo of Angian air squadrons protecting Skibbenon, optimal attack routes and, of course, the objectives for the first few days. Strauss looked over the piles of documents, skimming through most of them. He had seen them all many times before. The entire invasion plan of the Aurivizht State had been worked out and looked over thousands of times before, and only because of the Skibbenese Senedh not yet having ran a vote on it, had it not been carried out.

“Is there a scheduled vote in your Senate on the operation yet?” Strauss asked, lighting up a Florentian cigarette. Trevaskis himself was looking over the plans as well, barely acknowledging the lit cigarette.

“Yes, the senati-veq has called for a secret vote to be held tomorrow, 11.00. The NMF is voting in favour, as is the CU. That’s already a majority.” Trevaskis said, taking a sip of a cup of tea. “I believe the LP will vote in favour too. Nancollas will have to vote in favour, considering the millions of Thalers your nation threw at him. Her Majesty doesn’t have an influence on this, but she’d much rather protect the family bonds with your nation than the fascists in the south.”

— “So that’s arranged?”

“Indeed. Just need to put a solid date on it all. Waiting until April or May when the snow has melted won’t work, considering our shared units are moving to the border already. End of March seems to work best, I assume.”

— “So, a month remaining until it all happens?”

“A month until we’re at war.”

---

Aurivizht-Skibbenese border - Disset-Tousaeg Regional State - Aurivizh

13:26 – March 13th, 2023

It was clear it was becoming warmer. Even though there were still massive piles of snow, an average temperature below freezing and frozen lakes, the fact that the sun was coming up earlier and setting later was of great influence. Lieutenant Fransezig Jestin took a deep breath, the fresh air of the Aurivizht highlands filling his lungs. He had joined the armed forces professionally after the mandatory enlistment period and had made his way up the ranks. He was now in command of a platoon, subservient to a Battalion in the city of Disset, which itself was subservient to the 10th Light Infantry Brigade down south in Tousaeg. His platoon had been assigned to probably one of the least eventful tasks one could have: Border patrol.

Jestin and his unit had been on patrol for a few hours by now. They were finally approaching their end point before another platoon would take over the rest of the patrol. In the distance, Jestin could already make out the small paved road and unelectrified railroad, together with the border house. He slowly skied towards it, followed by the second Lieutenant, Mevel. The sun was shining brightly, and he couldn’t wait until he was back in the barracks so that he could warm up – maybe even go to the sauna tent which had been set up a few days prior. Just as he was about to announce the final stretch to the border house, he was interrupted.

“Letanant! Over here!” A soldier, somewhere in the middle of the column, shouted. Jestin sighed, before turning to Mevel.

“Move further with the front half. I’ll stay here with Sergeant Repars and his men, we’ll join up in a bit.” he said, before skiing back to the soldier who shouted, Sergeant Repars.

“What is it?” Jestin asked the Sergeant, who himself was pointing to a spot across the border, near a marshalling yard on the railroad.

“Over there, look. There’s a train pulling in.”

— “So?”

“This yard has been unused for years, sir. Feels a bit off, doesn’t it?”

— “I guess you’re right… Grab your binoculars.”

As ordered, both men reached for the binoculars stored in their backpacks. As they magnified in on the train, they could make out more details. Vehicles had been placed on flatbeds.

Military vehicles, flying the Dolch and Skibbenese emblems.

“That’s…. If I had to guess, an entire brigade worth.” Jestin mumbled, looking at the giant train that had pulled in. Dolchic and Skibbenese soldiers moved to unload the giant fleet of vehicles, seemingly to a staging ground a few hundred meters out of the yard.

— “This can’t be much good, can it?” Repars asked.

“I don’t think it will be much good. Take pictures, we need to move on and inform.”

---

Aurivizht-Skibbenese border – Northern Aurivizh

07:32 – March 21st, 2023

How foolish they had been. The Dark night had lit up too early, not by the sun, but by the sounds of gunshots and cannons.

The Invasion had started at four in the morning. The Skibbenese had sent a declaration of war at three-fifty.

Tousaeg Regional State had become the first battlefield of the war. In the northeastern part of the state, two brigades of the Dolch Armed Forces had crossed the border of Aurivizh, going down to the south and west in massive columns. Other routes of attack had also been opened, with one in the Disset-Tousaeg Regional State, and one threatening Doaned - the Fourth-largest city of Aurivizh. In total, up to twenty thousand men, split over five brigades, had invaded Aurivizh. Whatever Aurivizht border guards or small battalions stationed on the border existed were quickly pushed away by the Dolchic war machine.

Bombing runs, cruise missile strikes and long-range artillery had even temporarily deactivated the northern airfields. Runways filled with rubble made it impossible for aircraft to take off until the debris was cleared.

Even civilian infrastructure had been hit. The Alivezh-Doaned Mainline had been bombed into an inoperable state, and even the Strait of Budoc bridge, all the way in the south, had been hit by a series of cruise missiles. Aurivizh was reeling back from strikes in nine of its fourteen Regional States.

The sun had risen on the morning of the twenty-first of March, the Dark North now had Red snow.

[Aurivizh]

All over Aurivizh

21/03/2023 - 19:40 - Television Broadcast

[Tagmatium Rules]

 

To: Head-Minister Tudig Gwernig of the @Aurivizht State

From: the Holy Imperial Government of the Greater Holy Empire of Aromania

 

Your Excellency,

The actions of the Kingdom of Skibbenon and its supporter, the Empire of Dolchland, are shocking in the extreme and an affront to God's wish for a peaceful Eurth. To launch such an underhanded attack against the Aurivizht people and state is a blow against all of the civilised wurld. It shows that the Dolch aren't content on just invading their nearest neighbours but are willing to meddle in the affairs of Eurth as far a way as Yeetland. As you are undoubtedly aware, Aromania considers Aurivizh an ally and a key partner in Yeetland. To see your people and nation so unjustly struck hurts the Aroman people, and the suffering of the Aurivizht tugs at the very heartstrings of all Aromans. You, your people and your country are in our prayers.

As your excellency is undoubtedly aware, the Greater Holy Empire of Aromania is at war with the Empire of Dolchland. Therefore, the Holy Imperial Government will take action to make sure that that nation does not strike against, or cause harm, to your nation and the Aurivizht. As well as that, I have been requested by his Aroman Majesty, Kommodos III, by the Grace of Christ, Holy Emperor and Autocrat of the Aromans and Equal-to-the-Apostles, to put several offers before your excellency. His Aroman Majesty requests that you and the Aurivizht people consider them.

• Firstly, his Aroman Majesty has asked the that Catholic Patriarch of the Aroman Church request that prayers for the Aurivizht are said in every church, from the great cathedrals and basilicas of the Aroman metropolises to the smallest rural chapels and roadside shrines, on this coming Sunday. Undoubtedly, this will aid in your nation's attempts to turn the tide. Faith in God is our strongest weapon in these dark times.
• Secondly, an ultimatum may be laid down against the Kingdom of Skibbenon, demanding that they cease their aggressive action against the State of Aurivizh and disavow their alliance with the Empire of Dolchland. If they refuse to do so, the Holy Imperial Government will consider whether a declaration of war might be an applicable response.
• Thirdly, in order to help your brave armed forces turn back the tide of enemies that attack your borders and assault your cities, Aromania would be willing to send military aid in the form of equipment that your forces already operate. This will be so that equipment can be sent to your forces without disrupting your armed forces' logistics chains as they already exist.
• Fourthly, the Holy Imperial Government will be willing to consider the request of any other equipment and will send experienced personnel to train your military in the operation of this additional equipment. Payment will be discussed once the crisis has passed. It is not in the interest of the Greater Holy Empire, nor Eurth, to attempt to haggle whilst the blood of the Aurivizht is being spilt.
• Fifthly, in recognition of the key role that your nation plays in the peace and stability of Yeetland, the offer of direct military support is on the table. However, if it looks as if the forces of Skibbenon and Dolchland are on the cusp of defeating the forces of your nation, then Aroman forces will be sent to shore up those of Aurivizh. Please do not take that as the suggestion that Aromania has any doubt that the Aurivizht will prevail – that is not the case. God is on the side of the Aurivizht. It is just that the Occidental-Azanian Pact cannot be allowed to gain more of a toe-hold in the east of Argis than they already have.

As Aromania is currently at war with the Empire of Dolchland, the Imperial Navy will interdict any Dolch-flagged civilian vessels that are in the Geltic or Cetan Seas and will investigate whether they are sending military or financial support to Skibbenon. If so, they will seized. If not, then they will be allowed to continue on their way. Any military vessels bearing the flag of Dolchland will be sunk or otherwise rendered inorperable. As the Greater Holy Empire is not yet at war with the Kingdom of Skibbenon, this same threat will not be levied against them, until such a time that a state of war might exist.

May God have mercy on the Skibbenese, because surely He is on the side of the Aurivizht.

Eugenios Goulielmos

Grand Minister

of the

Ministry for Foreign Affairs

of the

Greater Holy Empire of the Aromans