Editing Autia (section)

==='''The Belkan Invasion of the Ercaenmedian Union'''===

'''Western Pact'''

''Belkan Strength''

Army Group Center, Army Group West, Army Group East

High Field Marshal V Class George Kessel,High Field Marshal IV Class Albert Irons, High Field Marshal IV Robertio Enchadorian Functs

1,250,000 men

7,000 cannons

100 Lundwurm Heavy Tanks

300 Lunddraken Light Tanks

10 Iron Colossi

17 Air Battleships

30 Air Cruisers

60 Zeppelins

1000 Eagles

300 Aero-Maschinen

''Soukon Strength''

Marshal Alexandrios of the Silver Host

30,000 men

100 Dragon Slayer Ballista

30 Neo-Triremes

Republic of Free Men Detachment, Voluntas Pact Detachment

'''Northern Autian Treaty Organization'''

''Ercaenmedian Strength''

Host of Greater Glory, Host of the Homeland, Host of Eternal Victory

Supreme Commander Hugo Lee, SC Alexisy Song, SC Alexander Roskov

850,000 men

3,500 Cannons

100 Mobile Skycannons

500 Wyverns

14 Little David Super Heavy Tanks

Aerofortress Glory to Greater Ercaenmedia

50 Fortresses

20 Ancient Wyvern Superheavy Flyers

''Alkorian Force in Ercaenmedia''

Lord General Rupert McKinney

100,000 men

300 Tanks

500 Cannons

Afrozilian, Aesnarian, Eritroan and Westphallican Detachments

The Belkan Invasion of the Ercaenmedian Union would be the moment the world was pushed from the brink into full scale warfare. Following the invasion of Belkan Arktikos, Lord Chancellor Erich Von-Valzheim of the Grand Assembly notified the Belkan Generals Staff to mobilize the Army and prepare for war while outwardly making pleas for peace with the Alkorians and Ercaenmedians for the ceasing of hostilities. This caused the Alkorian forces to demobilize, wanting to appease Belkan to focus on the War in Harlbourg, but the Ercaenmedians were not fooled and reinforced their positions on the Fulta, Deemz and Olter Gaps, the main invasion routes the Belkans had used in the past centuries.

These defenses would be tested as on the night of the Piscean 17th in the year 3021 the great Watchtowers fell and 750,000 Belkans broke through.

'''The War for Ercaenmedias Heart'''

The Belkan Army Group Center would be tasked with taking the three main passes through the mountains as well as the most populous parts of Ercaenmedian territory, consequently it would also be the largest and most well equipped of the Belkan Invasion forces. Field Marshal Kessel directed five Corps to the assault on the Falta Gap, the most heavily defended and also widest of the three passes, with three Corps each allocated to the assault on Deems and Olter. His assault on the Falta Gap would be heavily contested, III rd Corp would be left at half strength after it's assault on the Hells Guard fortress with two reserve Corps being brought up to replace casualties, but the area surrounding the mountain pass would be secured a week later as his forces defeated the defending Ercaenmedian armies in the battle of Plizen. With the Falta Gap secure Army Group Center was free to push fresh troops through it, with the Army of Greater Belkan arriving in full strength in Ercaenmedia just weeks after Plizen's capture, with these fresh reinforcements the Belkans were able to outflank the Ercaenmedian armies defending the other two passes, finally securing them three weeks after the initial invasion. Even with the successes brought by the taking of the passes and the destruction of the Ercaenmedian border Watchtower network Belkan troops were still under heavy pressure, Ercaenmedian counterattacks along the front resulting in heavy casualties for both attacker and defender with the invaders soon learning why their ancestors feared the fierce southerners.

The Ercaenmedian counterattack , fierce as they might have been, were a move of desperation to buy time for reserves and levies to be mobilized with much of the standing army being wiped out in climactic battles like the defense of Tover, the war for city Ersatzakan and the battle of Pinzk. By the second month of the invasion a third of the country was under Belkan control with much of the civilian population fleeing south into Westphallica and the Republic of Free Men. The Second Battle of Shurwood and the Siege of the Three Sisters had seen the Belkan IIIrd and Vth Corp take positions only thirty miles away from the capital of Etalithar before being pushed back, with the Belkans falling back to defensive lines centered around the city of Hurtz.

Hurtz was an old city, built up around the ancient castle of an Order of Brass Knights in times long past, but still a formidable one to take with the Belkans only able to take it due to the efforts of sappers in the night who destroyed the two Little David's standing guard over the city. Once the City fell it was used as a staging area and supply dump to supply front line Belkan troops. It was also the spot that Hugo Lee and Lord General McKinsey chose to direct their forces at, in an attempt to break the thin frontline of Center Force with the majority of the Alkorian army as well as the Aero Fortress Glory to Greater Ercaenmedia spearheading the assault.

'''The Battle of Hurtz and the Diomedan Offensive'''

The Battle of Hurtz would be just one part of a far greater offensive as the Allied Armies launched their assault on the so-called Diomedan Salient. The Amazons of Afrozil under Queen Presidente Sola Solata assaulted the IVI and II Corps under Field Marshal Eddo with a Host of Ercaenmedian levy infantry breaking the western part of the Belkan line at the Battle of Novamudias, the tactic of sending wave after wave of Ercaenmedian soldiers proving to be costly if effective, the Amazons and their army managing to push the Belkan line back five miles. On the eastern part of the salient the Alkorian Expeditionary force found themselves battering away Belkan trenchlines, losing 30,000 dead in the first day of the battle but managing to evict the XX Corp for a gain of ten miles. In the center the Alkorian 1st and 3rd Tank Divisions with the Army of the Blistering Rose began their assault on Hurtz.

The Allies deployed their assets conservatively, not willing to deploy the Aero-Fortress until the Belkan army could be brought to the field, they entrenched around the city and began bombarding it with artillery fire. The Belkan defenders under General Marshall would not leave the city to do battle with the Ercaenmedians even as the outer districts of the city were bombarded to rubble. He spread his forces throughout the city, emplacing his cannons on the commanding heights of Castle Hurtz's walls, with the majority of his Corp defending the interior of the city. The General and his Corp were not even supposed to be in the city, they were just on their way to another part of the line and resupplying there, a fact left out of Ercaenmedian intelligence reports.

Shaman General Meow, the overall commander of the Allied attack on Hurtz, decided to probe the defenses of the city after bringing down it's walls dispatching a Regiment of Westphallican mercenary spider Cavalry in through breaches in the old city wall.

With her scouts reporting light defenses the Ercaenmedian General decided to deploy only half of her army to attack the city with the other half advancing further into Belkan controlled territory. This would prove to be a blunder as the newly formed Army of Greater Judgement, A 50,000 strong force, found itself engaged within the city against a similarly sized Belkan force with the benefits of entrenchments and heavy fortifications. General Meow and her force, having destroyed the 5th Division at the battle of Blatz, were forced to leave behind their hard fought positions and march back to Hurtz, encircling the Belkans in the city but being counter-encircled in turn by two fresh reserve Corps.

The battle would rapidly turn into a war of attrition between the Belkans and Allies, as more and more forces were committed to the fight the city gained an importantce that it was originally lacking. Airships of the Solstfielian Free Armada and Imperial Aero-Navy would duel in the skies of the city, to great enjoyment by both forces who were happy to have found worthy adversaries, and Alkorian armored forces were tested and found wanting on the fields and valleys surrounding the city as both sides adapted to tank warfare.
At the end of the Diomedan Offensive the Belkans had been pushed back slightly from their original positions with Ercaenmedian forces controlling much of the city of Hurtz but the Belkan's owning most of the land surrounding the city leaving the Allies with only a thin supply line. Overall the Offensive was a success offering Alkor and Ercaenmedia a little more room to mobilize their forces, if at the cost of hundred of thousands of lives , and fortify stronger defenses to bleed the Belkans on their way to Esthaliar but as the war entered it's next phase Ercaenmedias fare was still undecided.

The War for Ercaenmedias Heart would eclipse the Belkan Campaigns on the coast in both size and scope but the country would remain cut off from the sea.

'''The Coastal Campaigns of the Ercaenmedian Front:'''

Field Marshals Irons and Functs were tasked with taking the western and eastern coasts of Ercaenmedia respectively with Marshal Alexandrios of the Soukon Contingent to make landfall on the western coast as well. The strategy behind the campaign would be to capture Ercaenmedia's port cities to deprive it from foreign and colonial aid as well as enabling Belkan and Soukon forces to be resupplied by sea. Where the Center front would be concentrated on taking as much territory as possible on the way to the capital as well as defeating the main body of the Allied Armies the Coastal Campaigns would be much more restrained and focused, each pincer would only have around nine Corps worth of troops to use and certain cities designated as primary objectives.

On the Western coast the first objective was the port city of Melvin which was taken by storm three days after it's initial besiegement. With the city taken the Soukon Contingent was able to join forces with his own while still leaving a significant marine force embarked aboard their ships. Fifty miles down the coast was the next objective, Duangjon, a much larger and well defended port city and home to several Ercaenmedian dreadships. The Field Marshal raided down the coast burning through minor towns and villages on his way to city reaching it a week later. Knowing that the port could be used to base raiders who could assault his supply lines from the sea he appointed three Corps to make siege to the city and begin bombarding it, a squadron of Cruisers and Frigates of the Belkan Navy would remain offshore and out of range of the city's guns to keep any new supplies from reaching the city. While the city was under siege he ordered the rest of his forces under Marshal Alexandrios to march south and take the cities of Tavenna and Wutland, with the Soukon naval forces raiding up and down the coastline and causing great confusion among the defenders. After three weeks of bombardment Belkan Tercions and repeating riflemen entered the city. They faced strong resistance from the crews of the Dreadships who had joined the garrison as naval infantry equipped with a variety of close ranged weapons as well as the Idol trio BLACKpunk. The magic and blades of the Ercaenmedians was not enough against the might of the Belkan hordes who captured the city after a day of hard fighting, but the port facilities were heavily damaged in the process. This meant that the Belkan and Soukon navies would be unable to use the port as a base till it was repaired with only the extremely large city of Wunderwahl also having the facilities to maintain large, armored warships.

Marshal Alexandrios advanced quickly on Tavenna taking the city before it's defenses could be raised. Wurtbad would manage to ready it's defenses in time after fighting off a vanguard force of Belkan and Soukon Cavalry and prove to be a much hardier target as the combined force made to siege it. The commander of the city's garrison General Ljuda Rostok, who coincidentally had been a veteran of thirteen Belkan wars, had prepared physical and magical defenses at the sight of the enemy armies with barricades dotting the streets and holy water protection circles being drawn around it's limits. The Ercaenmedians had hoped that they would be able to hold for reinforcements from the army at Wunderwahl, initially only having to fight a few Divisions the defenders would be shocked to find 60,000 Belkans had encircled their city.

While Marshal Alexandrios had left behind two Corps to besiege Wurtbad under Marshal Julian his own force of four Corps would advance to Wunderwahl and begin maneuvering to entice the Ercaenmedians into a battle. This would culminate In the Battle of Pinz-On-The-Sea which would see half of the Allied force routed but victorious with the fire support of several Neo-Triremes. With the defeat of the main Ercaenmedian field army on the coast Alexandrios began a wide encirclement of the city while awaiting Field Marshall Irons and his two fresh Corps. The Belkan and Soukon force would attempt to cut the city off from all resupply and reinforcements but crucially it was still able to maintain a link to fresh food via the sea.

Three weeks of siege had left Wurtbad burning and in ruins but still standing, the city had endured a full scale assault on the walls just a week before with a force lead by elite Shock-Halberdiers and Freemen Champions barely beaten back, but in the third week it would come under an aerial assault. While all Belkan forces brought with them a few squadrons of Eagle Fighters (unless they were fighting farther south where Smelter's disease was much more common) they were no match for the powerful Wyvern riders of the Ercaenmedian military. So when the Belkan Air Force committed squadrons of Aero-Maschinen and Griffins to the assault on Wurtbad air superiority was finally able to be won, with Belkan Zeppelins and Aero-Cruisers beginning to bomb the formidable city. The city would finally be taken when regiments of the "High-Jumpers" Shock-Halberdiers parachuted into the city and opened it's gates to the waiting Belkan army, very few inside were spared by the vengeful besiegers.

Concurrently with the capture of Wurtbad the Belkan and Soukon Navies would win the Battle of Toulon Gulf, forcing much of the Ercaenmedian Ignan Fleet to flee north to Rhinosol or Belkor or be destroyed by the overwhelming firepower of the Allied Fleet. This would exhaust the last of the ammunition of the Belkan-Soukon Armada so when they made steam to blockade Wunderwahl it was hoped that their presence alone would dissuade all shipping.

'''The Siege of Wunderwahl and the End of the Campaign:'''

With Marshal Julian marching the remnants of his forces to Wunderwahl the Belkans began their bombardment of what was once one of the largest cities in Western Autia, Zeppelin raids were proposed at first but it's Sky-Cannon defenses were much too heavy resulting in the losses of several of the precious machines. Entrenched howitzers and superheavy mortars would make a ruin of the once proud city as field artillery would pound away at it's massive walls. But the assault was taking far too long for Marshal Irons liking so he proposed a plan, having his finest Lancers round up several Necromancers from among the population and bring them to him. He informed the Necromancers that with the amount of dead produced by the city their would be many suitable hosts that they could rise to open the gates and let this army in, while he could just ignore the city and head farther south it's garrison was much too big and capable of wrecking his supply lines. The Necromancers were given a chance between this mission or death, with all but one closing death rather than betraying their country, the only one who would agree would be the Coward Legrand who began preparations for this great feat of necromancy.

After two further weeks of bombardment and preparation the ritual that would damn Legrand forever in the eyes of the Ercaenmedian people was enacted and a horde of shambling Undead arose in Wunderwahl as Belkan and Soukon shock troopers with ladders approached the walls, a force of Cockatrice Knights rushed towards the city gates as well. What the Belkans did not know was that zombies are quite incapable of feats of dexterity such as opening gates, leading the Belkan Knights being butchered by Steam-powered gatling guns, but their appearance allowed the Allied Shock Corp to take the walls after an extremely deadly battle. The Allied shock troops on the walls fired signal rockets calling for the rest of the army to begin a full attack on the city as they rushed to open the main gates to the city. Soukon Hoplites with Fire-Sarrissas and Belkan Halberdiers would hold their positions at the Gates for hours as the rest of the army raced towards the city, holding against an overwhelming wave of Ercaenmedian Hussars and Pikemen, with the last of them falling as the first Belkan Tercion entered the gates. The city's garrison mobilized to seal the breach in the city's walls with Silver Guard Riflemen blasting away at Belkan Musketeers and the lines met, with the overwhelming numbers on the Belkan side allowing them to push back the defenders and deeper into the city though they would pay a heavy price. After two hours of melee at the Gates the Belkans finally were able to bring the bulk of their army inside the city, adopting loose formation to fight among the rubble of the ruined urban area, leaving behind pikes for Swords and Warhammers. With the Gates taken it was just a manner of time till the city fell, first the Merchant Quarter, then the Port Quarter leaving on the Government Quarter and Fort Trumter still in Ercaenmedian control.

Dug in Volley Guns made a mockery of the breastplates and armor of the Belkan Infantry, lone wizards picking off commanders from apartment roofs and crude undead monstrosities would be summoned to fight waves of Halberdiers leading to multiple city blocks being leveled by field and heavy artillery.

After three days of fighting Fort Trumter fell to the Belkan army leaving the Civil District as the only part of the city still in Ercaenmedian hands, Governor Paolo Chung vowed to never surrender to the invaders and had the rest of the Militia gather around the Governor's Palace. The city would surrender two days later.

With Wunderwahl under Belkan control Ercaenmedian resistance along the rest of the coastline would collapse with the Belkans fortifying the cities under their control, allowing for fresh reinforcements to be brought from Belkan proper as well as Soukos. On the other coastline the campaign would go even better with the Belkans driving as far south as the Westphallican border, cutting off Ercaenmedia from Alkor with the successful battle for Arnodts Warf.