Reich Marshal of the Belkan Reich

Unlike before, Princess Rosa Bonaparte is leading the reunification of Ustio. The Reich Marshal has the Belkan war machines acting as supporting elements to the Reformists' Army, intending to have the Reich act not as an invader but as a supporter/sponsor of Rosa's cause of a once more united Ustian Kingdom. More than that, this move will push Rosa forward into the spotlight and allow the Belkan military some time to cool off their stupidly fast motors. The swift progress in the last half a month isn't quite nearly enough to put a sweat on the brows of the Belkan military and logistics, of course. Nonetheless, the Reich Marshal still deems it fit to give all three Army Groups their due R&R until Rosa sorts out the works in Paris.

Although there remain Loyalist remnants and stray EEF logistical forces in the Southwest Ustio, they are inconsequential in the grand scheme of things when the High Sea Fleet is positioned to blockade the sea routes, thus entrapping them all in mainland Europe. These remnants have nowhere else to run to, and the short time Rosa spends in restructuring Paris will be their last chance to surrender. Now that Rosa is the tentative Queen of the Kingdom of Ustio, or should I say Queendom? Well, she can't be too heavy-handed in the way she reclaims the rest of her territories. Rosa has already proven herself to be a competent Princess and military commander. Now she needs to be the new leader that the whole of Ustio needs. This will require a more delicate touch instead of, let's say, using a 240 mm train artillery to blow stuff up. An ultimatum is passed on to the Allied remnants in Ustio, they will be treated accordingly if they surrender in a given time frame. If they ignore this act of compassion, however, then all bets are truly off and Rosa can deal with them how she sees fit.

While Rosa is maneuvering to take charge of her nation, and ultimately its colonies overseas, things are starting to heat up over in the East of Belka. Under the cover of the night, Companies of soldiers travel on foot to approach Belkan military outposts set up along the Polanian-Belkan borders. These Companies belong to the Polanian Army of the Republic of Polania under the Revolutionary Command Council of Polania... I know, it's a mouthful, but that's beside the point. Crossing the buffer zone that exists between the two nations' borders, these Army Companies consist of the more experienced soldiers of the reformed Polanian Army. Despite their arrogance and stupidity, the leaders of Polania still understand that a night raid is best not to be entrusted in the hands of recruits. That said, it's still a stretch to call these Companies elites., one can only trust them not to mess up badly. It's why tonight, the Polanian Army will shed all pretense of being civilized and attack the Belkan Reich without a declaration of war. In the eyes of the Polanian leaders, this is still the only way for them to gain any semblance of advantage. They still don't know that Ustio is now under the Reformists' control and the Erusean Expeditionary Force is defeated and captured wholsesale. This lack of knowledge, in particular, will be their undoing.

Although it sounds simple at first glance, targeting Belkan border outposts and installations, it has to be noted that the Belkan military has shored up their defenses by quite a lot after the recent fiasco. Even with the element of surprise on their side, Polanian Army commanders, those with a good head on their shoulders at least, understand that the upcoming moments may be paid in rivers of blood. The enigmatic nature of the Belkan Reich makes it impossible for the Polanian planners to form concrete strategies and tactics. To lessen the chance of fumbling the batch, it's decided that the simplest approach is to be taken. This is none other than an intensive but brief bombardment, followed by an attack from the frontline Polanian Companies. When the border infrastructures and high grounds are seized, the main Polanian Army Divisions will start crossing their border as well. Once more, this military action is as simple as it can get. Because of this, soldiers and officers in the field won't have to fear straying from their orders. Once the tasks of these Companies are accomplished, they only need to use flares to announce the next phase of the plan. It's so simple that nothing should go wrong, right?

Right...?

Crossing the Oder River, the Polanian Companies manage to approach the Belkan border installations undetected. However, it's weird that the Polanians haven't encountered any roaming patrols yet. Other than brightly lit watchtowers with floodlights sweeping left and right, the Belkans don't seem to post sentries externally of their installations. While some Polanians think this is suspicious, the brightly lit perimeters of the Belkan outposts prevent them from sending any scouting parties. This is not to mention the fact these Polanians are running on a tight schedule. By sending in a probe, they risk being shelled by friendly artillery when the appointed time arrives. In their effort to prevent the Belkans from learning what they're about to do, the Polanians don't even try to use the radio or send out messengers. Everything hinges on secrecy, and a moment of delay may prove costly.

Back on the other side of the border, Polanian artillery batteries, featuring a mix of the Great War era 105 mm and 155 mm artillery pieces, start opening up against targets all along the borders. Bright muzzle blasts light up the dark sky as heavy high explosive shells are flung at speed across the borders. Ultimately, they all land asynchronously on the Belkan border installations, casting a crescendo of flame and destruction as buildings explode and tear apart in the blink of an eye. On average, each Belkan outpost is shelled constantly for a minute and a half with a delay of two to three seconds per explosion. That's a lot of munitions being wasted on the border area, but it's a necessary investment in the eyes of Polanian military command.

When the shelling has stopped, the frontline Polanian Companies rise up and rush out of their cover. The majority of the attacks have to be conducted after a river crossing. This means most of these Companies are charging forth without accompanying vehicles. While they have light artillery and mortars for fire support, the Polanians severely lack the mobility, protection, and firepower offered by their usual tankettes. Nonetheless, so long as they can seize the outposts for themselves, these Polanian Companies can start digging in and wait for reinforcement. Belkan cities like Frankfurt, Cottbus, and Gorlitz are just beyond these bombed installations. Lucrative targets to seize as bargain chips for future negotiations with the Reich. As such, these assault Companies must complete their missions.

As the Polanians close the distance, however, they soon find something amiss. Minutes have passed since the shells landed, yet not once have the Belkans made a move since. No alarms, no shouting, no flares to provide illumination... There's not even a single gunshot when the first Polanians scale the broken perimeter walls and charge into the outposts' interior. Aside from flickering light sources, a burning house here and there, and some smoky pits... The Polanians find no trace of the supposedly formidable Belkan border garrisons, not even a patch of blood, much less a corpse. Something is fishy, and it ain't rotten fish.

When the fact has sunk in, all Polanian Company commanders order a canvas search of their respective areas while simultaneously ordering the fortifying of their seized outposts. As troubling as the lack of Belkans is, some think the Belkans may have already pulled out their border garrison to combat the Allied forces in the West. Others, however, think that this whole thing is an elaborate ruse, and they have played right into it. Most Polanian commanders understand this reality well, and it's with grim hearts that they order their troops to keep an eye out for a Belkan counterattack. The implication that the Belkans already knew about the Polanians' dastardly action and played empty forts with them is extremely dreadful. This means that, as of this moment, the Belkans may as well be broadcasting the Polanians' audacity to the rest of the world, something that shouldn't happen until much later.

Nonetheless, as it stands, the job of these Company commanders still hasn't changed. When they have secured their holdings, the commanders try to contact the bulk of the Polanian Army on the other side of the borders. As expected, their radios failed to work, leading these commanders to start deploying mortars to launch color-coded star shells. However, right before any mortar teams can launch the required shells, screeching can be heard from high above. Those in the known will identify the falling shapes as GBU-250s, precision-guided 250 kilograms high explosive bombs. Of course, these bombs belong to none other than the Belkan Air Force.

Once again, the former Belkan border installations explode. Only this time, they were blown up by their former owner. Having been eyeing the Polanian force deployment constantly for months, the drone operators controlling the Barracuda UCAVs have been itching for the right moment to pull the trigger. In this case, they had been lasing targets such as the mortar pits and machine gun emplacements the Polanian Companies set up and destroyed them accurately.

The explosions stun the Polanians on the wrong side of the borders nicely. Those with quicker wit dash for cover, fearing more capital punishment will befall them. They're right to do so, of course, but due to a suggestion from ONI Section Three, the Belkan Air Force comes up with a new spanking way to subjugate these threats to Belkan sovereignty.

Less-lethal bombs filled with Oleoresin Capsicum.

Upon impact, these bombs expel a large cloud of irritant that blinds and irritates its targets. While the chemical ingredients are, by themselves, not lethal and are popular in Belkan personal defense pepper spray, the lethal comes from the possibility of some poor sods being hit directly with the bomb casings. Dropped in carpet-bombing style by multiple Phantoms, the speed at which these bombs fall upon the ground can pulverize human bodies on direct impact. While it's unknown whether the Phantoms manage to score a bullseye kill or two, what they do know is that all border installations are laced with irritants. The air is so filled with the stuff that the Polanians below can't even see as everything is pitch black and searing for their eyes, noses, and tongues. It's not even a stretch to say that the Belkan basically polluted the entire border area with their dreaded pepper bombs. Not many Polanians can reach for their gas masks, and even then, the burning effects still linger. A gas mask needs to be worn before contracting chemical agents, after all.

And no, this is not chemical warfare when people aren't dying from chemical agents. The Geneva Convention doesn't even have jurisdiction over this matter.

With their guns desperately thrown on the ground in search of washing water, the Polanians aren't able to react when the Belkans attack. Attack is too strong of a word, however, as the whole thing goes on to become a bloodless subjugation. Belkan soldiers, clad in CBRN suits, swiftly knock or pin these Polanians down, letting them twerk miserly on the ground as they are searched and cuffed like the criminals they are.

In other words, it's a textbook example of riot policing done right. Everything happens so fast that none of the Polanian Company commanders manage to get the word out for the main Polanian Army. This, laughably, makes the Polanian headquarters hesitate on whether or not to push ahead without the agreed-upon signals. They accounted for a scenario in which the Polanian Companies might be bogged down. Thus there's a separate color signal that acts as an SOS. Yet, what they failed to include is when there's no signal at all. In that case, should they proceed or wait? An argument in Polanian military command breaks out because of this lack of notification from the attacking Companies. Due to the radio being jammed, Polanian military headquarters couldn't ask for Warsaw's opinion in time. So the decision now rests solely on these newly promoted Generals and the few veterans around. Factions form with each having different ideas and expectations, culminating in a mess of words and spits. In fact, it's a miracle that no one has pulled out their pistols or grenades, yet...

In their back-and-forth discussion that leads to nowhere, the morning of the next day is fast approaching unknowingly.