March 23rd 1935, Headquarters of the Northern Army Group, Terapol
"This should sum up the situation. Any thoughts?" Valentin looked at the map. Eight thousand... eight thousand men were trapped with. "Is there any information regarding how chances are for a breakthrough attempt?" asked Lieutenant Wendeler, former deputy commander and current commander of the first Battery until Headquarters sent a suitable replacement for Major Waltisberg, who has been temporarily dismissed for treatment of a severe leg injury. "None. The Federation cut off all communication lines. Lieutenant General Lemore assumes that Colonel Luschke followed protocol and fortified his position though in order to hold the line, so a breakthrough is unlikely. He suggested the usage of airships for supply drops, but High Command remained unconvinced. Any other questions?" "Yes. What are estimates regarding the opposing forces?" Valentin heard Kehlers asking from the right. "Only rough estimates. Presumably at least two divisions, maybe three." Lindtmann waited for a few seconds and looked around.
"If that's all, I will resume with the plan then." He announced while he rolled out a map. "We will temporarily receive artillery tractors during the initial advance so we can keep up with the mechanized spearhead. Our main goal is to provide direct fire support, while our observers will search for targets both for us and the two river monitors Marosh and Ladya, which will provide additional fire support."
Colonel Lindtmann then pointed at the river that flowed through Kijell. "They will operate under a skeleton crew to make room for a possible extraction of key personnel in case the breakthrough does not succeed. Are there any questions regarding the strategy so far?" After waiting for a few seconds, Lindtmann took the map and folded it together. "Then go and inform your men. Wendeler, Witterer, Soeft, you stay for a brief discussion." Valentin left and headed towards his tent. All that was left for now was giving the gun crews their briefings…
March 23rd 1935, Outskirts of Kijell
Christopher poured the runner a cup from his canteen as the man essentially collapsed against the table, the sound of the imperial machine gun position laying down fire still audible. The responding fire from their guns didn't seem to have much of an effect on its operators. He handed the cup to the runner. "Th-Thanks... enemy got pushed back….Guard managed to press on-..." "I'll cut you off right there soldier. Calm down a bit first. Are you injured?"
Christopher could only imagine what he had gone through. Imperial troops had used the cover of the night to slip past their lines and had set up some machine gun and sniper positions in the abandoned buildings. The runner shook his head and took a few seconds to catch his breath and drink. He then took a deep breath before beginning again. "The enemy got pushed back in the east. ward all the way to the Church. The Republican Guard managed to wipe out their front line headquarters near the Church. The Imps weren't even able to burn all their shit before our boys got there. Intelligence will have their field day with all the files. Furthermore, Major Jenkins requests an immediate attack to the west to take out the automobile factory before they can use it to repair their vehicles." "Attacking the factory…" Christopher thought for a moment.
"Get me Maretta and Roulant." he ordered one of the nearby soldiers while he rushed towards the table he had set up for documents, getting a hold of the map of the city and rolling it out. Studying the map carefully, he searched for the factory. "4 kilometers from here.. did any tanks get spotted nearby?" "None. Most of them are held in reserve in the inner city where the Imps have their Staff personal and some are guarding the last bridge they didn't blow up based on what i have been told." The runner explained. "There were tanks spotted at one of the train stations as well, but other than-" "You asked for me, Sir?" would be interrupted by Roulants arrival. "Yes Sergeant, there's some- Where is Maretta?" Christopher asked as he looked at him. "I asked for both of you to come here." "He said he was heading out to silence the radio outpost the Imps set up two streets from here. Took two fire teams with him." Roulant explained. "Who gave him permission to do that?" "Well, quite frankly Sir, we assumed you did…" Christopher let out a sigh. "When did he head out?" He asked while he looked at the map. "About 10 minutes ago. If someone runs after them now, maybe we could…" Roulant began, but Christopher interrupted him. "Two streets from here you said?" "Yes Sir. Just up the road until the next crossing and then down the road on the left towards the industrial area." he explained. Christopher carefully weighed his options. Maretta's attack probably would result in reinforcements to be sent to that radio outpost, which might result in a failure to capture it… on the other hand... "Roulant, get your men ready. Tell the rest of Maretta's men to prepare themselves as well. I want at least two Sections ready. The rest assumes defensive positions until we are back." Christopher headed towards the corner of the room where he had placed his submachine gun and picked it up.
March 23rd 1935, Headquarters of the Continental Europan Branch of the Operational Intelligence Service, Trier
Edward sat at his desk, dragging the strip of the meat through the sauce with his fork while he thought about the last few days. With the current way the war was going, he had felt a severe lack of appetite. Not that it was going horrible at the moment, quite on the contrary, reports were showing that the last few offensives had been fairly successful. But with the successes came the worry that the Empire would increase their efforts in infiltrating their ranks. Just within the last week, they had caught two moles, luckily before they could reveal any sensitive Intel.
As he sat there, thinking and twirling around his fork, a voice came from the intercom. "Sir, Victoria Dansk from Section 4 is here to see you, as requested." "Let her in." he spoke into the speaker as he pushed the plate aside. Not even a minute later, the door opened and the woman stepped inside. "Miss Dansk, thank you for coming so soon, please take a seat. Did my assistant tell you why i asked you to come here?" Edward asked her while he mustered her. "No, Colonel Bredouw." She replied. As usual, she didn't give off even a slightest hint of what she was thinking about. It was honestly a bit unsettling. Edward always had felt a bit of discomfort around her. Some people were just difficult to read, but most people at least try to fake emotions or anything like that. Victoria on the other hand… she always remained stoic. Emotionless even. "I was told you are among the best your department has to offer when it comes to decrypting the Empires codes. Something that is of great value to all of us. However, recent development opened up some options. Have you ever been assigned a field position?" "No Sir, I have not." she replied almost immediately.
"Well, i will try to keep this brief, Miss Dansk. During one of our latest offensives, a large amount of data in the form of documents and encrypted files have been captured. High Command insists that they won't need any help as they have already assigned their own men to this task, but I was able to convince them that we can send an expert who can teach them a thing or two." Edward began to explain. "After careful consideration, you were picked for this. We will equip you with one of our wireless radios with an integrated cipher so you can keep in touch with us in a secure manner. If you find out anything important, let us know first. After we weren't able to predict the imperial attack, High Command is considering shutting us down and replaying us with the Army's intelligence agency. We need any kind of advantage we can get." Still no reaction from her. Edward took a sip from his glass before he continued. "You will essentially function as our eyes and ears on the front lines. Use any means necessary to get the information we need. It is of utmost importance, Miss Dansk. Any questions?" "Just one. How much time do i have to pack?"