A/N: I do not own Harry Potter or anything associated with it.
FIFTEEN
Fort MacPherson, Rochester, New York
Holy Empire of Britannia
March 17, 2005
The traffic jam that formed outside the main gate of the camp should have been the first indication to Harry that something big was going on.
Located just thirty miles north of New York City, Fort MacPherson is a relatively small military base with an area of just twenty square kilometers. Nevertheless, it is the principal military base that is charged with protecting the city of New York in the improbable case that the Holy Empire would be forced to defend itself on its home territory. It is also the location of the headquarters of Archduke Stephen York, the man who was in charge of the defenses of the Holy Empire in the east coast.
Despite that, under normal conditions, the base would not have been as busy as it was when Harry and Commodore Granger entered the camp. Aside from regularly scheduled military exercises and the occasional inspections conducted by the top brass, the base was almost always deserted, with Archduke Stephen commanding the defenses of the east coast from a provisional headquarters located in Rochester, inside his castle. This is because the east coast defense forces was not supposed to be that large or even that active, considering that there is almost no chance for any invader to be able to breach the defenses of the Holy Empire to the point that the home guard units had to be activated.
That was clearly not the case when Harry entered the base. Machinegun posts and heavily armed sentries had been posted in and around the base, with at least two three vehicle patrols constantly roving around the perimeter of the base. Harry had also espied an old sloop over the base, proving air security.
The destination of Harry was the base administrative headquarters, located near the entrance of the facility. It was here where Commodore Granger and he parted from each other. The older man had just parked his car at the officers club before he had to rush off to a recently set-up transportation hub. Where Commodore Granger was heading, Harry does not know, but Harry imagined that it would be somewhere far, perhaps even out of the duchy.
As Harry approached the administrative building of the camp, he turned his attention toward his right hand side and noted that the traffic jam that he and his hoped-for father-in-law had endured the moment that they arrived at the base was still there. Harry could also see trucks and military busses leaving the base, full of uniformed personnel and, sometimes, supplies.
He returned his attention toward the direction of the administrative building. There was a parking area in front of the building and Harry knew from having been here before that that parking area is rarely, if ever, filled to the brim. That was not the case as the young ensign turned his attention toward the parking. It was filled with cars, most of which bear civilian plates revealing the fact that most of the officers that had been gathered were not on active duty when they were ordered to report. That spoke of the urgency of the recall and not for the first time since he had arrived at the base, Harry wondered what was going on.
'Whatever it is,' Harry thought as he crossed the final street that separated him from the administration building, 'it is big.'
At that moment, Harry paused as a long black vehicle suddenly entered the driveway in front of the main doors of the building. He had to admit that it was mere curiosity that made him pause, but he did wonder, when he saw the person who was inside the limousine, if he had sensed the need to pause.
Lord Alexander was the first person off of the rear of the car, and the Archduke of England did not even bother with the pleasantries. Harry was not able to see the look on the face of his liege lord – because Lord Alexander had his face toward the entrance of the building and not toward the direction where Harry was coming from – but Harry had no trouble imagining that there must be a look of determination on the face of Lord Alexander.
Admiral Cline and Vice Admiral Ashford were quick to exit the vehicle after the man that they serve, but unlike Lord Alexander, both men are in military uniform. Harry imagined that Lord Alexander was in civilian clothes because the Archduke was supposed to be in vacation at his ancestral home, his first in nearly two years, according to Lady Emma.
"I wonder what he is doing here," a voice behind him made Harry turned his attention toward that direction as soon as he could.
Ensign Edward Brooke flashed his old classmate and buddy a smile as the eyes of Harry landed upon his own before he raised his hand toward Harry and said, "Hey."
"Hey yourself," Harry replied at the same time that he extended his right hand to his friend. Ensign Brooke accepted the offer and the two men shook hands. Although they had been classmates and buddies when they were in the naval academy and despite the fact that both of them entered Imperial Knight School as soon as they graduated from the Academy, the career paths of the two had forced them upon separate paths.
Both Harry and Edward are qualified to wear the golden lightning bolt insignia of the naval special forces on their uniforms, but because their special forces training was conducted by the Imperial Knights – which, technically, could only have thirty thousand members, and all slots are currently filled – the two men are not allowed to wear the insignia. Instead, they are forced to wear their warfare specialty insignia on their uniform.
It was here where the separate career paths of both Harry and Edward differed. The surface warfare officer insignia on the uniform of Harry denotes his specialty as a surface warfare officer. Having dreams of commanding his own ship – perhaps, even his own battleship and, from there, his own squadron, and, eventually his own fleet – Harry had chosen to enter surface warfare specialty school right after his training with the Imperial Knights.
By contrast, Edward wore the wings of a naval aviator on his uniform, reflecting his decision to enter flight school right after his training with the Imperial Knights. Last Harry had heard, his classmate was assigned to a shore-based naval fighter squadron, though there are rumors that he would soon be promoted and posted aboard an aircraft carrier of one of the four fleets.
"They asked for you too, huh," Edward said before he motioned for Harry to take the lead.
Harry easily complied, "Whatever this is, it's big," he replied. For a few moments, the two men did not say anything. They crossed the threshold into the interior of the administrative building. Neither was surprised when the interior of the building was full of people, and only a few of them were actually at the hall just because they want to be as most of those inside the building are running to and fro.
"It's big alright," Edward suddenly whispered toward the direction of Harry. Harry, however, did not deign to reply to the words of his former classmate; instead, he focused his attention forward. Ensign Brooke nearly lost his balance as he involuntarily stepped backward at the sight of one of the most powerful men in the Holy Empire standing in front of them.
There was a neutral look on the face of Lord Alexander, but it was clear that the man was staring at them. Behind him, his two closest advisors also kept a neutral face, but then again, Admiral Cline and Vice Admiral Ashford are probably used to keeping a neutral façade whenever they are in public and in the company of their superior.
"I was not expecting the two of you here," Lord Alexander said as he turned his gaze away from Harry and toward Edward. Before either man could say anything, the Archduke suddenly added, "But in a way this is a good thing," he nodded, though that was mostly for his own benefit before he added, "This does solve a problem that we have been forced to confront with."
"Sir," Vice Admiral Ashford suddenly interjected. It was clear that the chief military advisor of Lord Alexander was about to comment on what his superior had just said, but a single motion from Lord Alexander – the universal stop motion – made the Vice Admiral bite back whatever it was that he wanted to say.
Turning his attention toward his chief military advisor, Lord Alexander said, "I am sure that both Ensign Potter and Ensign Brooke are more than capable of the mission that we have been talking about, Ash," he returned his attention toward the two junior officers in front of him and added, "And if you have any objection given their low rank, I think that with the outbreak of this incident, we can ignore the stipulations of the Treaty of Lima, at least, until we can get the principal parties back there, or some other city, and we can decide what the hell we are going to do next."
Harry used his peripheral vision to look at the expression on the face of his old classmate. He knew that the sparkle on the eyes of Edward appeared there when Lord Alexander made mention of the Treaty of Lima and the fact that the Archduke believes that the treaty is about to be subrogated.
The Treaty was one of the not so few attempts by world powers to maintain the status quo and to maintain the uneasy peace that had descended between the nations. Under one of the many provisions of the treaty, the armed forces of the major powers have been limited. The Holy Empire of Britannia, being one of the signatories, was forced to curtail the growth of her officer corps by the time that the treaty was signed seven years ago. It was one of the main reasons why Harry and Edward are both still junior officers despite having been in active duty for nearly five years now.
As exciting as a possible promotion is, however, that was not one of the main reasons why, at that moment, Harry was intrigued. Lord Alexander had made mention of an incident, and every bone in the body of Harry told him that this is the incident that had summoned him and Edward at this base. Harry knew that the incident, whatever it was, was big, but now he had to revise his earlier assessment of the incident, because if Lord Alexander is here, then it means that the incident is bigger than Harry had initially thought.
After all, Lord Alexander is the commander of the Imperial Grand Fleet. One does not call one of the four General-Admirals – even if said General-Admiral is on vacation – for a small incident. The fact that it is Lord Alexander who was here – rather than High Admiral Hughes General-Admiral of the Home Fleet –told Harry that the incident had something to do with the overseas possessions of the Holy Empire, specifically, in the Atlantic and Mediterranean.
The eyes of Harry widened as his thoughts passed through his mind. There is only one thing that he could think of that would explain the summoning of officers, cancelling vacation passes, the unusual and heavy security in the military camps, and the arrival of Lord Alexander despite his territorial military jurisdiction.
At that moment, Harry wanted to move, to do something. He wanted to wipe the non-existent sweat on his brows, or even just to roll on the balls of his feet, but he knew that he could not do that, not when he was supposed to be standing at attention.
Still, it was a response that was probably more than warranted. Harry knew that the only reason that all of the above things that he had to consider had happened is because the Holy Empire is about to enter a stage that Harry honestly prayed that he would never have to see.
Harry was sure of it; the Holy Empire is at war.
Rochester Castle, Rochester, Duchy of New York
Britannian mainland, Holy Empire of Britannia
March 17, 2005
The first thing that Lord James noticed as his car pulled into the relatively narrow but long straight road that he knew leads to the driveway of Rochester Castle was the beefed-up security. Certainly, security was not lax in Rochester Castle. The home of two Archdukes – at least, officially – and the provisional headquarters of the East Coast Defense Forces was located inside the seventeen hectare castle estate.
Usually, though, the security would be in the form of unarmed men wearing ceremonial uniforms from the castle guard, and they would be located on the castle itself. The driveway that leads to the castle that Lord James and Lady Lily are right now was still a good one and a half kilometer from first line of defense of the castle, the moat.
The guards are also not wearing the scarlet ceremonial uniforms of the Grenadier Guards, the bodyguard unit of the Royal Family, rather, they are wearing the battle dress of the Ground Forces of the Holy Empire, and from what both Lord James and Lady Lily could see, the guards are not only armed with standard issue assault rifles from the Ground Forces, they have also been deployed with their armored vehicles.
There are also a lot of them. Still, both Lord James and Lady Lily attributed the sudden show of force with whatever it was that was going on. the remainder of the ride to the castle was done in silence as the two elder Potter's considered the likely scenarios that had caused for most of the military officers of the Holy Empire and for some of the closest advisers of some nobles to be suddenly called in from their vacation. Unfortunately, both could only come up with one plausible scenario, and though neither Lord James nor Lady Lily had communicated to the other what scenario they had came up with, both knew that this is the dreaded scenario.
War. The last proper war that the Holy Empire had taken part in happened just a little over fifteen years ago. The Persian Gulf War, however, was a relatively minor affair, a war that lasted for only six months before the would-be dictator of the Middle Eastern Federation was defeated by an allied force nominally led by the Holy Empire. It was the war where Lord Alexander – then only twenty years old – had proven his mettle and earned his promotion to a flag rank officer.
Since then, there had been an era of relative peace. There had been some minor disturbances around the world, but for the most part, the Holy Empire had been able to steer clear of such troubles. It would appear now, however, that that era is about to end.
Both Lord James and Lady Lily headed to the Office of the Home Secretary the moment that their own mobile phones rang. Their callers summoned them to Rochester Castle and informed them that the Office of the Home Secretary had been ordered to provide a car for them. Neither Lord James nor Lady Lily asked for the reason why they were being called – nor did they ask the reason why they were both called, instead of just one of them, but the answer for that would be obvious anyway – as they both assumed that the reason for the unusual method of calling for them would be explained when they get to the castle.
The lights of Rochester Castle tore both Lord James and Lady Lily out of the reverie where they had both descended into. The four wheels of the limousine that Lord James had appropriated from the Office of the Home Secretary at New York City vibrated slightly as the paved road ended, marking the beginning of the cobblestone road that leads to the castle. The car crossed a stone bridge, but it was forced to stop before a massive metal gate that reminded both Lord James and Lady Lily of a cheese grater.
'The portcullis?' Lady Lily thought, 'they are actually using it?'
An armed security officer waved the car through a few moments later, but not before other guards checked the vehicle. The first thing that the two Potter's noticed was the collection of small armored vehicles that was marshalling at the courtyard of the castle. it was not the first time that they had seen armored vehicles in the courtyard of the castle, but this was the first time that they had seen so many, and all of them appear to have their engines at idle as a man that they identified as the garrison commander for the castle barked instructions to his junior officers just a few feet away from where the vehicles are assembling.
The car stopped at the driveway to the main building of the castle, and both Lord James and Lady Lily were easily off of the vehicle at the first possible moment. Having been summoned, both knew that they could not afford to waste time, hence the reason for the haste. Fortunately for them, they were able to find the person who had asked for them barely five minutes after they had entered the main building.
It was surprising for Lady Emma to be unaccompanied by Lord Alexander, but for this occasion, it would seem that she has the company of Lady Claire, her lady-in-waiting. An old friend of Lady Emma, Lady Claire was chosen for the position because she was the only one that Lady Emma would choose. The wife of Lord Alexander was forced to find a lady-in-waiting after she was married, though it was clear that the Archduchess would rather not follow the tradition that most female members of the Royal Family was required to follow.
"My Lady," Lord James began as soon as he saw her. The words out of his mouth made his wife turn her attention toward the direction where her husband was looking. Upon seeing Lady Emma, Lady Lily bowed toward the wife of their liege lord.
"My Lord," Lady Emma began, and though from experience, both Lord James and Lady Lily are sure that a smile would follow after that greeting, this time there was none as Lady Emma turned her attention toward Lady Lily, "My Lady."
Sensing that something was wrong, Lady Lily broke protocols. Alone, perhaps, from the members of the Royal Family, Lady Emma was the only one who would permit the breach of protocol, though given the current situation – not that Lord James nor Lady Lily are aware of the current situation – the breaking of protocol was probably something that would not be taken as an insult by any member of the Royal Family.
"My Lady, is something wrong?" Lady Lily asked at the same time that she realized that that was a superfluous question. It was obvious that something was wrong.
Lady Emma nodded, "Something is very wrong," she admitted, she motioned for the two Potters to follow her as she made her way to the first floor library, located just a few meters away from where they were at that moment.
As they were walking, Lady Emma continued, "Reports from the Headquarters of the Eight Army reports that frontline divisions have taken fire from across the border, heavy artillery fire," she said, she paused before she turned to look directly at the two closest civilian advisors of her husband and added, "Just a few moments before he left, Alex informed me that he had received reports from General Tovey that his corps commanders are reporting a massive surge of North African League units across the border."
Lord James and Lady Lily looked at each other. It would appear that their musings while they were on their way to the castle were right on. The Holy Empire is heading to war.
"I asked for you here in order to discuss certain measures that we may have to impose in the British Isles," Lady Emma continued at the same time that Lady Claire opened the double doors to the library. The Archduchess and her companions stepped through the door and found themselves in the midst of one of the largest private collections of books in the east coast of the Holy Empire, "My Lord Alexander is worried, perhaps understandably so, that certain rebellious elements within the British Isles would take advantage of the fact of the absence of a large number of our forces from the British Isles to break into open rebellion."
'Understandable, given the circumstances,' Lady Lily thought, 'they still haven't found Dumbledore, and there have been reports of increasing tensions within the magical British Isles.'
Fort MacPherson, Rochester, New York
Holy Empire of Britannia
March 17, 2005
There must have been close to five hundred officers inside the make-shift – really, it was a gymnasium, but it was the biggest place that the clerks could find and could serve the purpose – briefing room, and all five hundred of them stood as one the moment that Lord Alexander entered the gymnasium.
The fact that Lord Alexander was now wearing the double breasted navy blue uniform of the Imperial Navy – and most of the officers gathered are wearing the single breasted dark brown uniform of the Imperial Ground Forces or the Type A Combat Dress Uniform of the same service – was ignored. The reason that they stood up was not because Lord Alexander was a naval officer, it was because he had two diamonds on both of his shoulders. That and the fact that he is a high ranking officer and member of the Royal Family, actually.
Together with the other five hundred officers who were assembled inside the gymnasium, Harry stood the moment that Lord Alexander entered the room. Harry was one of the minority, probably thirty or so officers from the Imperial Navy, not counting the staff of Lord Alexander, who was gathered inside the room.
"At ease and take your seats," Lord Alexander ordered the moment that he reached the podium where a make-shift sound system had been set-up. He waited until his order was followed before he continued, "I am sure that you are all wondering why you have been called here, some of you having to be disturbed from your vacations and leaves, believe me, I was one of those whose vacation has to be disturbed."
"There is a reason, though," Lord Alexander continued, "And that reason is this," he paused and breathed in as if he was consolidating his strength for the announcement that he was about to give, "We have received reports from the Eight Army Headquarters of General Neville Tovey that his units at the frontline, specifically, the 14th Infantry Division, had been fired upon by the North African League using heavy artillery and long-range rockets, no word on casualties yet, but they are expected to be heavy."
"Gentlemen, we have confirmed this reports," Lord Alexander continued, "What we have not confirmed are follow-up reports from the 49th Home Guard Division alleging movement by North African League units across the border, though at this point in time, whether or not the reports are true is of no more relevance," he shook his head for emphasis before he added, "What matters, gentlemen, is that as of this moment, the Holy Empire is at war with the North African League."
Lord Alexander allowed the shocked murmurings by the troops assembled in front of him to continue for a few moments, though he was quick to restore order after he had judged that he had allowed it to go on long enough, "Gentlemen," he said, a little more forcefully than usual, but it did achieve the desired results, "You have been asked here because you all would play a significant part in our coming counter-offensive, though those roles that you are going to play would be given to you in further briefings to be conducted by your immediate superiors, immediate superiors that report directly to me."
Harry blinked at that. The fact that Lord Alexander was here was a dead giveaway that the Archduke would be in command, but Harry did not expect a naval officer like Lord Alexander to be given direct command over the Theater. Harry had expected another officer, perhaps one from the Ground Forces, to be given command of that Theater, but the more that Harry thought about it, the more that it made sense. After all, Lord Alexander is a member of the Royal Family.
"It is an unusual situation, to be sure," the Archduke of England admitted a few moments later, after the silent murmurings have died down. Harry noted the sour look on the face of Admiral Cline in response to the murmurings, but the chief of staff of Lord Alexander had decided not to say anything.
"Nevertheless, I have been given command of the Mediterranean Theater up to and until Her Imperial Majesty had decided that someone else would be up to the task," Lord Alexander continued. After a few moments, the Archduke actually smiled after he realized that he had made a mistake. Almost at the same time as that smile, Lord Alexander added, "High Command had decided to form a Mediterranean Theater for the duration of this crisis, though if the same would be retained after the crisis is over is not something that I am privy to."
Harry blinked at that. Not so much the fact that Lord Alexander was not aware what High Command and the government is thinking, the young Ensign – soon to be Sub-Lieutenant – knew that most of the time, Lord Alexander was not in the know about what is going on in the minds of the staff that make up High Command. No, what Harry blinked in reaction to was the fact that High Command had decided to make a Theater.
Normally, the Holy Empire Armed Forces operates two services, the Imperial Ground Forces and the Imperial Fleet. Both uniformed services are augmented by a number of other uniformed services, though those are merely augmentations and does not necessarily mean that such units could be used for offensive purposes. Some, like the Coast Guard, are purely defensive units.
The Fleet and the Ground Forces are, in theory, commanded by the Golden Throne, but coursed through the Chief Imperial Marshall – an empty position because this is supposed to be the Crown Prince who is still recuperating from his latest medical operation – and the Minister for Defense. Below that, the Ground Forces and the Fleet are totally separate.
The creation of a Theater command would imply a combined force operation from the two services, something that, Harry realized, should have been obvious the moment that Lord Alexander had announced that he has been named commander of the force that would counter the invasion.
"Territorial and reserve units are, even now, being recalled to active duty," Lord Alexander continued, "I am not yet in the know as to how the planners and staffers are going to organize it, but I can tell you this, a new army, the Seventeenth, is being formed."
That was news, Harry thought. There are fifteen armies in the Ground Forces, each corresponding to a specific geographical location. The Eight Army, as it were, is the army unit in Egypt and was tasked with defending that territory. As such, it is now the unit that is bearing the brunt of the fighting.
"Gentlemen," Lord Alexander suddenly said. In response to the rather forceful tone of the Archduke, every person in the room stiffened to attention even though they remained seated. Once he was sure that all attention was again turned to him, the Archduke continued, "Right now, it does not matter how this new unit would be deployed or what it would be composed of, right now, what is important is that each and every one of us is aware of what is happening and that we are all prepared to fight to defend our Holy Empire."
"Until that moment that you are called to receive your assignments and other duties, you are dismissed," Lord Alexander said.
Once more, there was the thunderous sound of the sole of shoes and boots hitting the ground as every person inside the gymnasium who was seated took to their feet. As one, they saluted Lord Alexander who effortlessly returned the salute before he exited the gymnasium, followed, as always, by his staff.
(Headline of the Britannian Imperial – March 18, 2005)
WAR; Holy Empire of Britannia declares war against the North African League; Lord Alexander, Archduke of England, named commander of Mediterranean Theatre; Pre-Dawn Bombardment takes 14th Infantry Division by surprise; North African League units crossing border into Egypt
Pendragon, Holy Empire of Britannia – War drums beat and battle flags unfurled yesterday at the Imperial Parliament as Prime Minister Adrian Bean delivered a speech requesting Parliament to declare that a state of war exists between the Holy Empire of Britannia and the North African League.
"Today, the Holy Empire has been attacked," the Prime Minister said in his opening statement, "Today, malicious men with delusional dreams of grandeur and an overinflated sense of ego had made the decision to doom men to death and countries to destruction. Today, the North African League, in a blatant display of contempt for the hard-earned peace that we now enjoy, had decided to begin armed operations against our forces in the Britannian Commonwealth Territory of Egypt."
Voting 1243-0, the Britannian Parliament responded favourably to the request of the Prime Minister and declared war against the North African League in response to the North African League's invasion of Egypt.
After the vote was taken, the Prime Minister made the following statement in front of his colleague, "This is a war that we had not chosen, but this is a war that we will end. We must never throw the first punch, but we will throw the last one."
At the Crystal Palace, the news of the attack at Egypt had prompted the Imperial Knights and members of the I Capital Defence Army to end all guided and unguided tours inside the palace. At the same time, the Imperial Knights have begun to fortify the defences of the official residence of Her Majesty, the Empress and the Royal Family.
Reacting to the news of the invasion of Egypt, the Crystal Palace released a statement forty minutes before the declaration of war by parliament, "Her Majesty, the Empress, has ordered the First Sea Lord and the Chief of Staff of the Army to use whatever necessary means to remove the North African League from Britannian territory."
"At the same time, Her Majesty would like to express her condolences to the bereaved family of those who have been killed in service to the Golden Throne."
Her Majesty, the Empress, is expected to address Parliament today during an extra-ordinary session of the latter to discuss the war.
At the same time that the Crystal Palace had released the statement, Imperial High Command had announced the formation of the Mediterranean Theatre in order to prosecute the war in Egypt. Lord Alexander Charles York, High Admiral and Archduke of England, had been named commander of the Theatre.
The Archduke is currently in the Britannian mainland as he is in vacation, but with the start of hostilities in the African continent, Lord Alexander himself confirmed that he would soon be leaving the mainland for the frontlines.
"This is not a cause for celebration," Lord Alexander was quoted as saying, "This is, rather, a cause for mourning. The fact that this order had to be given means that war is now upon us. We have always known that war is inevitable, but we had prayed long and hard that such a war would not happen in our lifetime and in the lifetimes of our children and their children, we had prayed that the inevitable war be postponed until the moment that we, as a race, would realize that war is a waste. Now that war is here, however, we must prosecute it to the best of our ability, we must be prepared to make even the ultimate sacrifice to defend our country and all those who live within and look upon our flag in reverence."
The staff of Lord Alexander had announced that the Archduke would soon be travelling with the bulk of his Grand Fleet to the Britannian territory of Gibraltar in order to establish a provisional headquarters in preparation for the move into Egypt. The move is not expected to be complicated given that the North African League does not really have a navy that they could use to impede the passage of the Grand Fleet.
"Frankly, the concern that the General-Admiral has right now is the power vacuum that he would create in the North Sea when the bulk of the Grand Fleet leaves for Gibraltar," Admiral Alexander Halsley, commander of the 2nd Carrier Division of the Grand Fleet and the man who would be in charge of the force that would be left behind to guard the North Sea in the absence of the bulk of the Grand Fleet, was quoted as saying, "The North African League has eight old armoured cruisers, what they call as Panzerschiffes across the English Channel, and they represent the most modern warships of the League. Frankly, sixteen of those would not stand a chance against even just one division of Britannian battleships, and Lord Alexander has nine of them."
Sources from within the Ground Forces have indicated that the first unit to be attacked was the 14th Infantry Division of Major General George William Beck. The 14th Infantry Division was protecting the border when it came under concentrated heavy artillery fire from across the border.
"They came under fire from 155 millimetre howitzers," a source, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to reveal anything, said, "Casualties are heavy and they were forced to retreat mere minutes before North African tanks came charging across the border."
The same source revealed that the 14th Infantry – reinforced by other units of XXII Corps and with support XXVI Air Corps – had managed to contain the North African advance but the Britannian frontlines are still in shaky ground as Eight Army is having a hard time shifting their forces to contain a new assault from the North African League.
A localized counter-attack by the 14th Infantry had managed to destroy a North African League artillery unit that strayed too close to the frontlines, but because of the volume of enemy soldiers in the area, the battalion that made the counter-attack had to return to their own lines.
In other news related to the unfolding war, units of the 68th Bomber Wing, escorted by units from the 31st Fighter Wing, crossed the border between the North African League and Egypt six hours after the first attack. The Britannian bombers attacked the Al-Shufra Navy Yard of the North African Fleet and managed to inflict severe damage at the yard while the Britannian fighters managed to shoot down seventeen North African defence fighters in exchange for two of their numbers. There is no word on the missing pilots.
Britannian allies around the world had expressed dismay for the actions of the North African League while expressing support for the Holy Empire. In the Celestial Empire, the Crown Prince had offered to sell battleship shells to the Holy Empire at a discounted rate while the Kingdom of Spain had once more expressed their support to the Holy Empire at the same time that it offered the Imperial Navy the use of its anchorages in the Baleares.
There has been no reaction from the closest allies of the North African League – the Prussian Empire and the Confederate States of the Amazons – as of the present time.
Fort MacPherson, Rochester, New York
Holy Empire of Britannia
March 18, 2005
The nervousness that Harry felt as he stepped across the threshold that divided the hallway with the make-shift – and commandeered – office of Lord Alexander was understandable, as was the swear on his brow.
The twenty five year old had – as Lord Alexander had indicated last night – received orders to alter his insignia and the sleeves of his dress blues to reflect the fact that he is now a sub-lieutenant, though he was yet to do exactly as the order had said. That, however, was not the reason that he was nervous.
Having arrived earlier than his meeting with the Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean, Harry had been made to wait by an orderly that he had never seen before – though, in hindsight, he told himself that he should have realized that Lord Alexander would suddenly have an army of orderlies to assist him – and because he had been forced to wait, Harry was forced to witness the coming and going of senior commanders.
A mentally smile actually came across Harry as he thought about that. He was asked to take a seat while waiting, but because of the parade of senior officers, Harry was not actually able to sit as he had to offer a salute to each and every officer superior in rank to him that walked pass the waiting area.
The senior officers that had been parading in front of him since this morning is the reason for the nervousness that Harry felt as he walked into the office of his liege lord. The young naval officer had counted no less than fifteen men with triangles on their shoulders – staff-grade officers ranked from naval commodores and army brigadier generals to naval vice admirals and army lieutenant generals – and no less than five men with at one diamond on their shoulders – naval admirals and army generals.
It was pretty clear that Lord Alexander had been meeting with his direct subordinates within the theater command that he had been given all day. The fact that Lord Alexander had summoned him spoke of the fact that the High Admiral still has time for him, and that meant that the Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean has a mission for him, and it would either be a high-profile or extremely low-profile mission, given that it appeared that Lord Alexander himself was going to brief him.
The moment that Harry caught sight of Lord Alexander, he snapped into attention and offered the High Admiral a salute. Lord Alexander and his immediate staff – Admiral Cline, Vice Admiral Ashford, Admiral Granger, Admiral Dalton, and Admiral Bingham – were conferring with each other as they stood at the perimeter of a wooden table filled with blocks. A number of other officers wearing the uniform of the Britannian Ground Forces were with them, also deep in discussion.
Admiral Cline was the first person to notice Harry and the chief-of-staff of Lord Alexander lightly nudged Lord Alexander – who was discussing something with the man who appears to be the senior-most ground forces officer in the area – before he indicated to Lord Alexander that Harry had arrived.
"Lieutenant," Lord Alexander said, nodding toward Harry, but he did not say anything toward Harry, instead, he turned his attention to the other officers in the area and said, "Excuse us gentlemen, the lieutenant and I have to discuss his part in the coming campaign."
Harry suspected that most of the officers who had been politely asked to leave – because that was what that was, they had been asked to leave – would have grumbled, but they kept their mouths shut and quietly left the room.
When only Lord Alexander, Harry, and both Admiral Cline and Vice Admiral Ashford were left in the room, Lord Alexander motioned for Harry to come over, and invited Harry to look over the surface of the table where a few moments ago, the Archduke and his subordinates had all of their attention on.
As Harry had expected, on the surface of the table was a map, a representation of the entire coastline of the North African League and Egypt, complete with colored blocks representing the units that are already engaged in combat. What surprised Harry, though, was where some of the blocks representing Britannian units were on the map.
Lord Alexander was quick to notice where Harry was looking, and the Archduke said, "Opening a second front is the best way to react, in my opinion."
Harry tore his attention away from the surface of the table and focused it toward Lord Alexander, but he did not do anything else. He was unsure if he was being asked to comment, so without a direct order, he kept his mouth shut, and that was something that made Lord Alexander smile.
"Your part in the coming counter-offensive, however, would not be with the units that are soon going to land along the west coast of the North African League," Lord Alexander said, "Your part in the counter-offensive would be at the eastern front of this campaign."
Lord Alexander inclined his head toward Vice Admiral Ashford and the chief military advisor of Lord Alexander was quick on the uptake, "We have had reliable intelligence coming from the North African League since the beginning of the century, Lieutenant," the bespectacled man said with authority, but that was hardly surprising, Vice Admiral Ashford is always on top of everything, "So, we know, with reasonable certainty, who the enemy is, but there had always been a disturbing trend with the intelligence that we had been receiving from within the headquarters of the North African League."
"Unfortunately, I cannot tell you how intelligence came up with this assessment because I do not know myself," Vice Admiral Ashford continued, "but intelligence is of the belief that there is a secret unit within the order of battle of the North African League, a unit that we had never seen before, but, from all reports, a unit made up of special men."
"Mages," Harry suddenly commented. In a way it made sense. The fact that 'special men' had been used and the fact that he had been called here, there truly was just one conclusion that could be drawn from the facts.
"This is our suspicion as well," Lord Alexander suddenly said. He turned his full attention toward Harry, forcing the younger man to refocus his attention toward his liege lord, "We do not know for certain, which is why I am asking you to make certain for me."
Harry nodded, "Understood sir," he replied, "Imperial Knights?"
Lord Alexander shook his head, "Much as I would want to, I cannot order the deployment of the Imperial Knights," he said, "Only Her Majesty could order the deployment of her bodyguards, and she would not give permission, not without the information that I am sending you out there to get in the first place."
Harry nodded. If he was being honest, the twenty five year old would have to admit that he did not really think that the Imperial Knights would be allowed to deploy in this operation. Still, it would have been a boon if even just one battalion of the thirty thousand strong private bodyguards of the Golden Throne could be deployed with them. After all, one thousand wizards with military training and impeccable loyalty would be nothing to sneeze at.
"Instead, you'll have units from Marine Force Recon with you for this operation," Lord Alexander continued, and Harry had to fight the urge to groan. The Marine Force Recon was well known for their skills and abilities, and their dislike for people that they perceive to be outsiders being forced to work with them on their operations.
"They are the best we have," Admiral Cline suddenly said, "I, too, would have preferred Imperial Knights accompany you in this mission, but we have technicalities to consider."
Harry nodded, "Understood, sir," he replied, but he did not elaborate further, aware that his superior officers are not there to discuss his opinions with him.
"I need you at the front as soon as possible, Harry," Lord Alexander said, "So you are dismissed until 18.00 Hours tomorrow when you will report to Norfolk Naval Yard for transport across the Atlantic," he shook his head and added, "Go to Hermione and your family, it may be the last time that you would see them in a long time."
Kottelberg Castle, West Pomerania
Prussia
March 18, 2005
Lucius Malfoy had to fight the urge to sneer as he watched the messengers of the Kaiser depart his castle using their infernal muggle machine. The Head of the Malfoy Family reminded himself that while he had sworn loyalty to the Kaiser, he had not given the man a magical vow. No, Lucius reminded himself, his vow to the Dark Lord was still there and that is where his true loyalties lie.
As the black Mercedes Benz carrying the delegation of the Kaiser disappeared off the horizon, Lucius found himself pondering his current position. Officially, he is an advisor to the Kaiser, but unofficially, he is the most trusted advisor of the Kaiser. He had managed to worm his way into the side of the man by underhanded tactics, utilizing rumor-mongering, bribery, and – in two cases – outright assassination, to remove all those who would hinder his rise. In the ten years since he and his family had been forced to flee the British Isles, Lucius had risen to the position of Inspector-General of the Teutonic Knights, the man who is in actual command of the bodyguards of the Kaiser despite the fact that Lucius is not a military man.
The Teutonic Knights, however, respect him, given his magical abilities and his prowess for predicting what is likely to happen before it happened. It helped that the Teutonic Knights were magical and most of them graduated from Durmstrang Academy before they were forced to enter the Prussian military due to conscription.
A sigh escaped through the pale lips of the head of the Malfoy family before he turned his attention back toward the interior of the castle that the Kaiser had granted to him as a reward for Lucius' service to the Prussian Empire. It was larger than his manor back in England, but to Lucius, it always felt empty. When he and his family were forced to flee lest they be arrested and incarcerated, the family had to leave behind all of their valuables save for a few family heirlooms and little gold.
As he walked toward his study, Lucius allowed his mind to drift to the news that the messengers of the Kaiser had delivered. The pureblood supremacist in Lucius had to scoff at the notion of muggles waging war with each other, but the practical side of him – the man that had, over the past ten years, witnessed the true power of the muggle world – had to shudder. War had always been the most destructive thing that men do to each other, and it would appear that it had once more reared its ugly head.
The only good thing about this was the fact that the Prussian Empire was not involved in this – 'at least,' Lucius thought, 'not yet' – and with that, he realized that if his machinations at the North African League – some without the knowledge of the Kaiser – were ever discovered, then not only would the Prussian Empire be at war with the Holy Empire of Britannia, the Prussian Empire would most likely be hunting him and his family at the same time.
Lucius reached the double doors of his library and manually pushed the door open. The first thing that greeted him was a giant portrait – commissioned by Lucius from a man whose memory, Lucius erased shortly after receiving the painting – showcasing the Dark Lord and his most loyal Death Eaters around him.
The mere sight of the portrait was enough to strengthen the resolve of Lucius Malfoy, "For the Dark Lord," the man uttered beneath his breath as he walked into his library, closing the door behind him as he crossed the threshold.