Before Me The Revolution! 2 - (Code Geass, Bonaparte!SI)
2017 a.t.b. was the year of Britannia.
This form of speech was so common in propagandistic lines that Schneizel el Britannia, Prime Minister of the Holy Britannian Empire, felt almost bored of using for what was the doom of Europia. Operations had truly started in 2010 when Britannia used Area 11 to propel the creation of Euro Britannia in Eastern Russia. The puppet state that was created had the same purpose as Area 11 despite its different governance, which was to provide a better foothold over their most worrisome foe.
Europia was a sham of a superpower. While Schneizel wasn't blind over his own country's issues, Europia was far worse in terms of economic and social matters. The 'democracy' in charge of Paris was one that was dominated by a cast of pseudo-aristocrats that hardly cared for the needs of its upper classes, and the military helped in the complacency since it was connected to said politics.
It was no secret that several presidents had been from a military background, and that those kept the same status quo as of four decades ago. That being said, attempts to reform the country did happen, but none truly manifested between censorship and political assassinations. And this was... amusing. And frustrating.
Here Schneizel had expected to face some sort of resistance from Europia after 2010. The threat of their invasion was constantly looming on the so-called 'Council of Forty', but the lack of increases over the military budget just made their incompetence stand out the worst way possible.
Seven years gave Britannia the chance to build up Euro Britannia, gear up both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets, and get the right amount of Knightmare frames and infantry needed to swiftly crush their 'old rival' for good. It was his prized plan, his most ambitious one yet and... as January saw its beginning, the two months that followed provided a couple of perplexing details.
The first good news was the fall of the Iberian peninsula. Despite the strong build-up of the garrison in Madrid and Lisbon, the massive assault and its rapid assault shattered the lines and forced the EU Military to retreat back to the former French border.
The second 'goodish' news was that the forces from Euro Britannia had broke the hostile lines up until they found the expected slow down of the Urals' natural border. They would be breaking it by next April but... That was still uneasy to his overall plan.
Especially when the rest was a disaster in the making.
The African Campaign, that should have been the easiest due to the lacking presence of official troops from Europia, found itself bogged down from the very first two weeks. The first assault started upon West Africa, targets being Morocco, Liberia and Angola. The three main attacks were... destroyed upon impact.
The Anti-Air defense proved to be so extensive that none of the pilots manning the Knightmare frames launched for the offensive made it out alive. The only survivors were a couple of transport ships that had not been sunk during the rapid evacuation when the major cities they planned to claim were waiting for their invasion with heavy resistance.
Schneizel was surprised back then, but he had swiftly ordered a delay in the planned attack on East Africa. This was a temporary setback as he had planned to see the East African Strike Force reinforced with more ships and ground forces within a month, but a mere week after that first disaster a new one came in the form of the worst development.
During the nightly hours of a day in mid February, the various ships having taken refuge just below Socotra were attacked by an aerial assault and got mostly destroyed. The few surviving vessels were soon claimed by the military force behind the attack but... this time, they got a proper flag and a name out of that skirmish.
And this Diamond Dogs group wasn't part of any group known to operate in Africa either by EU-led mandate or even unofficially.
A new face, and a strong one at that. Schneizel rapidly saw for any approach to rekindle the campaign was stifled as the troops were pulled even further away from the African reach, turning those resources towards mainland Europe where the true push was unfolding.
Schneizel needed info- how come his spies couldn't find anything on the topic? Actually, how come something as big as this group failed to be noticed by Europia.
Surely they are not this much incompetent.
Shaking his head at the unpleasant results, these three months saw news filtered back to Britannia through what was happening in Europia proper, with Africa 'ignored' as a lesser front. Schneizel decided against even mentioning those setbacks to his father and the rest of nobility as the situation was not the kind that needed pressure from noisy fools that know nothing about military strategy.
All he needed right now was to get more info on who was causing him and his troops this kind of troubles. Only then he could conjure a fitting plan to destroy this new opponent.
Leila Maical stared at the TV Screen of her private room with a mixture of annoyance and curiosity.
It's been a while since she had decided to join the military, a decision that annoyed both her adoptive father and her adopted brother/fiance. But one that perfectly represented how dutiful she was in her love for her home. Europia was under siege by forces of evil, and the incompetence of its politics were crippling the Military in this time of need.
With merely three months under her belt, Leila had successfully ascended to the rank of Major and had been successful enough in some limited skirmishes in Spain and Portugal that she received praise straight from General Smilas.
As an unitary man, Gene Smilas was quite antagonistic over the panicky attitude of the Council of Forty, with the politicians trying to remove him from power a few times through the years but always being rebuked over his exemplary career.
And as Britannia struck again, the military was slowly asserting itself over the need of civilian permission to enact war policies. The process may be seen as illegal, but Leila was not a naive girl- she knew that politics were bad enough that laws were already barely followed in Europia as a whole.
Plus, the military was in dire need to get its efforts reorganized in a more effective manner. The war was not going well, and they needed all support possible. And Leila wanted to do her part even more as she requested to be moved to the Russian Front.
That being said, one thing had stood out in national politics more than usual: Africa. Where the most concerning attacks came to Iberia and Siberia, the fact that reports that had recently started to spread mentioned a failed Britannia attack on Africa were raising concerns seemed to speak by itself that...
Something was wrong with Africa.
Leila had been just briefly aware that the 'Dark Continent' had been under Europia's control for decades, but that it wasn't truly... 'administered by Europians'. The quality of life was best in Algeria and maybe Tunis, but the overall situation there was murky at best between criminals, exiled officers, and mercenaries.
A wild land for sure, and not one that should have withstood and repelled a well-planned Britannian assault.
To make things more interesting was the current broadcast situation of today: all channels had gone 'dark' as a countdown had appeared and replaced all programs. The voiced rumors suggested that someone had managed to hack the national TV broadcast system to present this unified situation and that it came from... Africa.
As the count reached zero, the screen was swiftly replaced by a scene showing a relatively barren room with a flag by the wall with the head of a black dog in display, a chair and then... a man. A smiling man with a ruggish beauty that caught her slightly off-guard. Muscular for sure, but roughish in his fashion as he looked a mix of an officer and a 'party man'. None of his dazzling appearance, however, prepared her for what was soon to be said.
"Bonjour, dear people of Europia. I suppose you have many questions, grievances and curiosities to speak and think as I present myself to you," The man grinned, giving a bow before sitting down by the chair behind him. "My name is, as far as you are going to known, Big Boss. I am the current supreme ruler of Africa as of now and the one that has decided to cut the lifeline that Paris uses to fully destroy what moral sense it has over its pledge to the people: rights, duties, honors- Africa had none as Europia preferred its home turf to all its children. A bad parent, a spoiled brat for sure, and one that now is struggling to withstand a limited assault from Britannia. The military says there is a chance to come back from this but... my dear people, do you really think this is a war only aimed at Britannia? Oh no, this is a war that will either make or break this country. Europia has stagnated and now is in full decline. Politicians say that 'everything is under control', but so was the case in 1940s and then in the 2010s. Look at us now? The world is on fire! Do you really wish to be hurled at a war with minimal awareness of what is truly going on 'upstairs'? The Council is a joke, the military leadership seek to impose a dictatorship and mirror the good ol' Napoleon Bonaparte in his greediest and most maddest moment. My people, for I care not for your nationality and background, here's the deal: join us. Join the Diamond Dogs and join the United States of Africa as the sole true heir to the ideals of liberalism and the French Revolution. I will not promise you full equality, but I shall give you the chance to stand out by your own individual strengths rather by other means. Be your own people, be great and be bold. Long live Democracy, and long live the fighting people!"
The screen disappeared, and a propaganda poster with the flag shown in the speech with the message 'Join Us now through the proper channels'. appeared next. Leila knew what this meant, and, as much as it pained her to admit, this was going to yield some dreadful results for Europia.
A day went by, and Leila wake up to find that a fraction of the barrack in Southern France that she was currently living in had disappeared. An investigation would confirm that this message had first been introduced before the public broadcast to 'prepare those willing to leave' to depart by that very day.
If before 'things were fine' for Europia, the situation was now tilting into a dangerous decline as several young people of low standing and poor families had migrated through the sea to Algeria and joined the seceding new nation of the United States.
The politicians were murderous, the military was rapidly blocking the ports to allow more people to depart from Europia, but what truly struck Leila the worst was that she learned someone she knew about had left too.
Anna Clement, her childhood friend, had left together with her family to Africa.
AN
A new contender has joined the battle! But they don't know that he is the Bonaparte just yet!