[b][/b][h1][center][b][u]The World as We Know It[/u][/b][/center][/h1]
[center][b]Discord Chat[/b]: https://discord.gg/f6n4B8[/center]
[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/9n9fobL.png[/img]
[i]The World, 1900[/i][/center][center][h2]September, 1900 (1/2)[/h2][/center]
[b][center][h2]The Tyro-Itheraen War Starts in Earnest[/h2][/center][/b]

Known for their distinctive "flat caps," the Tyro-Redanian 2nd Field Army under General Rolf Hannerman had kept his army under marching orders for the better half of a month. The arrival to the cusp of the Aegorian Plains was completed on 2 September, and from then the men rested for a week while the horse towed field guns--nearly 450 in total--caught up. The Itheraen Front was 450 kilometers, 135 of which where the harsh Normunt Mountains. The soldiers that climbed to altitudes ranging from 6,500 to 9,000 feet were hard pressed to dig in.

The Tyro-Redanians realized very quickly that the Itheraens had constructed makeshift defenses, but had made an interesting mistake. As noted in Tyrian general Hannerman's diary.

[quote][i]"Poised is a man seated in a hole dug for self defense. Almost immune to rifle fire, or even the lethal spray from the Tyrian Prager machinen-gunnen. A man still in his slit however is most vulnerable to fire from the sky, one of our major advantages. We will eradicate the Itheraens, still in their trenches without fear of major return fire."[/i][/quote][right]- General Rolf Hannerman, 4 September, 1900[/right]

The Tyro-Redanian Army brought with them 430 9cm M98 Feldkanones, heavy 90mm field guns that were some of the heaviest (and slowest) in any Continental Army. The Itheraens had only sixty of their own, meaning that any counter battery fire would be--at most--minor. On 5 September, the first shots of the war were fired when 91. Battery of the 199th Infantry Division of the 2nd Field Army opened up on Itheraen positions. The Itheraens were dug in. They weathered the brutal assault for hours. A direct hit meant absolute annihilation. Cries came up but few had the audacity to leave their trenches. 

[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/5dd5Hls.png[/img]
[i]The Itheraen Front, September 1900 (Tyro-Redanian Landswehr Divisions not Pictured)[/i][/center]

The M98 Feldkanones outgunned the 72mm Itheraen field gun, an Osladian design from 1890. The return fire was meager as the majority of the M98's simply out ranged the Itheraens. The artillery barrage ran for nearly four and a half hours, where the Tyro-Redanian 2nd Field Army expended 19,500 rounds of ammunition in a four and a half hour time. The 9 cm Feldkanone M98 was a modernized version of the M76 field gun. Virtually all the M75s were upgraded during 1898. For cost reasons the new gun retained the bronze barrel of the original, although it was actually redesigned to withstand the more powerful propellants coming into use. A touch hole lock was added to prevent accidental misfiring when the breech was open. A spring-mounted spade brake reduced recoil from 5–6 metres to 80 centimetres, although it only worked if the spade was buried in the ground. A depression lever was added to elevate the carriage's trail to allow the gun greater depression in mountainous areas.

[center][img]https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4039/4233852834_030bb4cae3.jpg[/img]
[i]Tyro-Redanian M98 9cm Feldkanones, 1900[/i][/center]
The offensive began at 0915 hours, following the opening artillery barrage. General Hannerman ordered 70,000 men against the North and 70,000 men against the South. They attacked thirty minutes prior to a 100,000 man offensive in the center. This began the [b][u]Battle of Aegoria[/u][/b].

[b][center][h2]Battle of Aegoria (5 September - 25 September)[/h2][/center][/b]
The Battle of Aegoria was fought between the Armies of Itherae and Tyro-Redania on the Itheraen front, between 5 September and 25 September 1915. The aim of the Tyro-Redania was to drive the Itheraens away from its defensive positions along the Aegorian Plains and on the nearby mountains. Although the Tyro-Redanians enjoyed a 2:1 numeric superiority, their offensive failed because the Tyrian commander, Rolf Hannerman, employed frontal assaults after impressive (but short) artillery barrages. The Itheraens had the advantage of fighting from uphill positions barricaded with barbed wire which were able to easily resist the Tyrian assault.

The Tyro-Redanians had some early successes. They partially took Feramax Lowlands, took Monte Colowrat, and captured the heights around Nexis. However, they were unable to dislodge the Itheraen troops from the high ground between the Normunt Mountains and the Sextus River. The heaviest fighting occurred around Fiscardo. In addition to the natural defenses of the river and mountains, bastions were created at the surrounding villages of Karpathos and Murtex. The fighting at Fiscardo consisted of street-by-street urban combat interspersed with artillery fire. Tyro-Redanian troops, such as the 154th Infantry Division, were able to advance as far as the suburbs but could get no further and were driven back. They made small footholds in Southern Fiscardo and Suryaei on the Karst Plateau south of Fiscardo but were unable to do much else. The final Tyro-Redanian gains were minimal: in the central sector, they conquered the heights over Suryaei. (Mount Sut); in the southern sector, they made no gains at all.

[hider=Battle of Aegoria (Casualties)]
- [b][color=purple]Tyro-Redanian Empire[/color][/b]: 14,947 men, 19,500 Artillery Ammunition. 4,500,000 Rifle Ammunition.
- [b][color=yellow]Itheraen Republic[/color][/b]: 9,950 men, 4,995 Artillery Ammunition. 995,000 Rifle Ammunition.[/hider]

[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/kPdnJHk.png[/img]
[i]Tyro-Redanian gains following the Battle of Aegoria, September 26th 1900[/i][/center]

[h2][center][b]Itheraen Republic Takes the Reigns[/b][/center][/h2]
Orders for a new armaments factory in Itliki were ordered in September, 1900. The factory's fate would most likely be to produce ammunition for the Itheraen war effort. A second factory was ordered to construction in Kepetria as well. The Itheraen Republic's spending went from $87,000,000 to over $157,000,000 from August to September. These increased military expenditures were promised to be "short, but war winning." The Itheraens, who by a score of six to ten approved of the Georgas Administration, had high hopes for a quick defeat of the Tyro-Redanian Army as they had done in war games only some months ago.

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[i]Itheraen Basilisk Powder Company Dux, in Dios, 1900[/i][/center]