[center][img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/xpYLAEU8_rQIjyKUje8FYZyfAX2MOsQ_3Vxe2wXVRBLZbmWhJHICZw8k5rNqHsDLfYfXtdc6Sgr1sPNWCwNNzM_N0mY[/img][/center] [hr][indent][indent][sub][/sub][/indent][/indent][table][center][h1][b]The Fall of Zhanghei[/b][/h1][/center] [row][/row][row][cell][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/eMG3wE8.png[/img] [sup][/sup][/center][/cell][cell] April 1, 1939: Army Group Dracus South advances from their positions on the Tseiyin Bridgehead, pushing northwest and taking unprepared Longguozhen formations by surprise. April 6, 1939: Caught without adequate antitank and anti-air capabilities, Longguozhen forces are rapidly overrun and the southern roads and railroads are seized. Reserve forces are ordered to the south to shore up defenses, northern units are ordered to prepare for defensive operations and not to abandon previously constructed defenses in anticipation of a second attack. April 14, 1939: The Southern flank continues to suffer under the relentless assault of Army Group Dracus South. The 4th Mechanized Army and 10th Army are ordered to prepare for a diversionary assault upon the still stationary Army Group Dracus North against the orders of High Priestess Daiyu. Orders from high command to divert all energy to evacuation efforts are lost in the confusion. April 15, 1939: Army Group Dracus North commences its assault on the northern detachments of the Longguo Second Southern Army Group. May 2, 1939: The Southern flank of the Second Southern Army Group begins to collapse under sustained assault from Army Group Dracus South. Outnumbered almost two to one and with grossly depleted ammunition, the decision is made to withdraw behind the Uli River and begin emergency evacuations. Entire factories are packed up and placed on trains, with their workers and civilians packed so tightly together they are unable to sit until they arrive at their destinations. May 13, 1939: A desperate counterattack by detachments of the 4th Mechanized Army forces a halt to the advance of Army Group Dracus North. Heavy losses are sustained for the temporary respite, but the attack keeps rail lines open long enough for the further evacuation of tens of thousands, and the final components of crucial ordnance factories. May 21, 1939: A renewed offensive thrust by both army groups finally succeeds in cutting off the remaining rail lines and major roads from the city. A trickle of civilians and soldiers continue to slip through enemy lines, but over a million soldiers and civilians are now encircled within the city. May 25, 1939: The first breakout attempt is made. Remnants of the 4th Mechanized Army, having escaped the trap, lead a desperate rescue attempt alongside half-strength formations salvaged from the shattered 10th Army. The attack, in concert with an attack from within the city by the encircled formations, fails to make contact, and the 4th Mechanized Army is entirely destroyed in a rearguard action enabling the withdrawal of the 10th Army. [/cell][/row][/table] [quote]Tank Commander Chen Hinwu Saiyin’s felt her body shake and rattle with the vibrations of the Type 28 as the light tank rolled between stark karst hills of southern Longguo. She felt sick to her stomach at the thought of the battle ahead. Memories of past encounters with the enemy flickered in her mind as the armored column trundled forward. The Type 28, lightly armed, even more lightly armored, and hopelessly obsolete, had been little more than cannon fodder for the newest tanks of the enemy. She had heard whispers in the grapevine of a new tank in development, intended to be put into mass production the next year. But she remembered the burning tanks of her comrades. The smell of cooking flesh. The screaming, the horrible screaming, as her comrades burned alive within their metal coffins. And yet the soldiers of the 4th Mechanized Army were throwing themselves once again into the white hot inferno of the Reiyk’s war machine. Not on some general’s fever dream. Not on the orders of the commissar whipping the soldiers into fever pitch. They, and hundreds of thousands more comrades, had organized into a relief force to lift the encirclement of the embattled soldiers and civilians trapped within Zhanghei. Daily, they heard the combat reports droned over the radio by an increasingly weary and tired radio operator. Almost a million soldiers and civilians were trapped within the city - and by the grace of the sun above, they would be delivered. Overhead, the cacophony of howitzer shells impacting enemy positions was drowned out only by the roar of the engine of her tank, the squealing of its tracks, and the screaming in her head. She did not want to go. She did not want to die. She wished only to return home to her children and forget the awful things she had seen. The twisted, blackened, half-skeletal remnants of a tank crew. The horrible shriek of the sirens of enemy dive bombers as they brought death and destruction. The sound of twisting metal as a tank was destro- The tank next to her burst into flames. An ugly hole torn in its front glacis. She stared, wide eyed, as it happened again in front of her. A crewwoman bailed out from the hatch, engulfed in flame, screaming incomprehensible things. She ran a few feet before collapsing to the ground as the flames engulfed her, writhing, writhing as if possessed by the flames that consumed her body. Chen scarcely realized her driver hurriedly driving away from the burning wreck as its ammunition stores detonated. The writhing woman fell still, red gashes now torn into her back. She shouted orders to her gunner without realizing as she pressed her eyes to the tank’s viewing ports, scanning for the enemy. Dimly, she made out the silhouette of a Lansus III, the smoke still drifting from its barrel, calling out as if by instinct its coordinates to the gunner. The concussive blast of the 45mm gun firing out its armor-piercing payload followed soon. The enemy tank’s turret ceased moving, and she realized after a second that the shot had actually penetrated, leaving a small hole where the round had impacted. Soon after, four enemy crewmen clambered out, only to be cut down by a burst of another tank’s machine gun. Another round penetrated the tank’s side and she smiled as it burst into flame. Another tank erupted in flames beside them, from which nobody escaped. “Left! Behind that hill!” She ordered her driver, frantically scanning as the gunner slammed another shell into the breach. “We’ll circle around and take them from the flank!” As they turned, another enemy tank loomed into view - a second Lansus III, its turret turned towards them. “Quickly, Zihao!” She screamed, eyes wide in terror. The thunder of the gun sounded in concert with that of the enemy. Chen’s world turned upside down. Every molecule of air within the tank exploded at once, and the world collapsed into a billion fractal particles of endless noise. The tank had been hit. Miraculously, she was alive. She felt herself over, patting down her body in stunned silence. She felt no blood, no wounds - she was alive! Alive! A glimpse through the viewing slits revealed another joy - the enemy tank burned before her eyes. Flames licked up around its chassis, and smoke drifted from the hole torn in its side armor. The stench of blood filled her nose, now. She looked down, half expecting to see the red ichor oozing from a wound in her own body - but her eyes alighted on her driver, slumped in his seat. One of the first men to join the unit. She stared, in disbelief, at the hole that had been torn from his body, the sunlight peeking through the hole in the hull of her tank, where the enemy’s shot had bored through its armor. The angle had saved them, she realized. Had her tank been facing straight on, their armor would have offered no protection - and she would be burning. Burning like the Alfheicher trapped within their own tank. The gunner was alive, she realized. Acting on instinct, she wrapped her arms around her, dragging the unconscious woman out of the tank and onto the grass below. She placed a finger on her neck, confirming a pulse, before clambering back inside. She quickly gathered up everything she could from the tank - documents, submachine guns, and the photograph of her son and daughter. Chen stared at their happy faces smiling at the camera, at her own expression, free of concern. They would be four and five now, she realized. She wondered if they were still attending school, away from this hell. Chao was still there, she realized. The driver. As if in dream she pulled herself down beside the mutilated body of her comrade, and yanked the ID tags off of him. To the side, a small photograph caught her eye, and tears began to fall. Spared the impact of the tank shell, a similar family photo stared up at her, showing another happy, smiling family. She heard shouting outside of the tank, and snapped back to reality. Instinct kicked in, and she readied her weapon, peeking outside of the tank for a brief second to see a squad of infantry - friendly infantry - coming up on the damaged tank. She waved at them as she pulled herself out of the turret, hurriedly tucking the photographs into one of the pockets on her person. She jumped down to her gunner and nodded to the infantry that rushed past her. She shouldered her unconscious gunner, beginning to retreat back to safety as ordered. Trained tank crews were in short supply. The offensive was doomed, she realized. A doomed, suicidal attack by those who could not stand by as their comrades were slaughtered. Yet, just like those within the city, it was destined for nothing but catastrophe all the same. [/quote] May 29, 1939: For the past four days, the radios in the city have been host to a secondary war - one of propaganda and information. Broadcasts are played to every soul within the city of surrender appeals from captive Longzhen soldiers as well as the frantic exhortations of the recently promoted General Tao Ying Huan Du Loc as he attempts to piece together whatever forces available to make a final desperate relief attempt. June 2, 1939: The Reiyk begins intensification of their shelling program of the city, targeting infrastructure and other facilities required for the habitation of the city. Tens of thousands of civilians are killed as traditional wooden homes ignite and a massive fire engulfs the older parts of the city. June 5, 1939: Alfheicher troops begin to advance into the city proper. Brutal street warfare commences as, though the army is rapidly running short of food, the ammunition stores within the city ensure its defenders can continue to fight. June 13, 1939: The Reiyk has begun to bog down in the intense urban fighting. Despite the smaller stature of their opponents, soldiers of the Reiyk report Longzhen civilians ambushing their soldiers with fire cocktails, swords, and personal firearms. Entire streets are mined with improvised explosives, and advancing tanks are destroyed with jury-rigged flamethrowers and sticks of dynamite intended for demolition shoved into the viewing slits of tanks. [quote]“Let it be known that Lin’s second guards company sold their lives here.” Zhuli Tsaoyin Huanloc crouched next to the writing scrawled on the wall. The bodies of those who had written it yesterday scattered around her. Beside her crouched the remnants of her unit, in the burned, bombed out ruin of what she remembered had once been a new hotel built to take advantage of the city’s booming economy. Her submachine gun burned in her hands, the bakelite grip uncomfortably hot from continuous firing, and intense heat radiated off of the metal barrel shroud. Ammunition was running low. Food had already run out. It had been two days since she had last slept, and three since she had last eaten. The squad had used the last of their amphetamine tablets hours ago. But she didn’t feel tired - only fear and anger. The attempt to regroup with the center of the city, wherein supplies and ammunition were held by the army desperately fighting a losing battle against overwhelming odds, had failed. Zhuli’s division had been ordered to spearhead one of the breakout attempts from the encirclement. The attempt had failed - and now they were cut off from both the bulk of the encircled troops and from friendly lines to the north. The division had fought its way back through rivers of blood to link back up with friendly forces, but had been steadily depleted in the savage street fighting that had developed. The Alfheicher were huge. Strong. Well fed and with ample supplies and morale. In the close quarters fighting that now dominated, the Longzhen tried to keep as much distance between themselves and the enemy as possible, where their semi-automatic rifles held a distinct advantage over the enemy. But there was the Alfheicher machine gun. Still spitting an endless stream of lead that slammed into the masonry around her. The sound was like a buzzsaw, rapid and relentless. The machine gun had held them pinned here for some time now, exchanging brief bursts of fire with her own squad’s machine gunner - until a lucky grenade had destroyed both gun and user. Another member of her squad peeked around the corner, only to spasm and collapse to the ground as the enemy machine gun opened up again. Overcome by a sudden rage, she hurled a grenade over the wall, ducking back in the nick of time as a flurry of bullets followed, followed by a sudden halt to the shooting, and the concussive blast of the grenade. Zhuli seized her submachine gun and rounded the corner, catching sight of a stunned machine gunner next to the mangled bodies of his comrades. She squeezed the trigger, dumping the remaining ammunition in her weapon into his body. She ducked behind the wall once more, her breath coming in heavy gasps as she waited for the inevitable hail of bullets. But none came. She was not foolish enough to look back across to the enemy position. Instead she turned to her squad - only one other woman remaining, she realized. She was alone except for this one soul, trapped amidst a sea of the enemy. Reflexively, she pulled the ID tag from her dead comrade, shoving the metal tags into her pocket. As she did so, her eyes alighted on another grenade lying nearby - a smoke grenade, apparently unused. Acting on instinct, she grabbed it and pulled the pin, waiting as the white smoke slowly began to grow to engulf the street. The Alfheichen soldiers across began to fire into the smoke - but tellingly, without the assistance of the machine gun. They ran in the opposite direction of the smoke, towards another ruined building. Behind them, a grenade exploded in the same position they’d been crouched, shrapnel impacting around them as they made their mad dash to the next ruin. They take cover in a nearby building only to come under fire from another direction as another Alfheicher squad homes in Bullets began to impact around them once again. Frantically, Zhuli looked around for their source even as she hurled herself into cover within the ruined building. Another squad of the enemy had sighted them and were closing the distance, working the bolts on their rifles with practiced ease. Her comrade raised her own rifle, snapping off two shots in rapid succession. Zhuli raised her own weapon, sending a burst from her submachine gun into the enemy, and forcing them to scatter. She ducked behind a wall, waiting, until her ear caught the sound of crunching gravel nearby. Her breath caught in her throat, and her gun rose once more, pointing at the corner as the sound drew closer. The Alfheicher rounded the corner, and she filled him with bullets - ten of them. The gun clicked as it ran out, and the enemy collapsed to the ground before her. She fumbled for a new magazine, but her hand came up empty. She groped for the pistol she had looted, and pulled it out - and realized it too had been depleted. A lump rose in her throat. She drew her sword, and waited beside her comrade anxiously pushing her last clip into the rifle’s magazine. A grenade landed at her feet. Reflexively, she kicked at it, sending it flying back to whence it had flown. A cloud of dust rose as it detonated, followed by the scurrying of feet. Another one appeared before her, his rifle raised to fire at her - but she was faster. She rushed forward, swinging for the enemy. The blade cut through flesh and bone, and blood poured down from the foe as he collapsed forward onto her, rifle clattering to the ground. She heard a scream to the side, and saw her comrade wrestling with an Alfheicher who had grappled her from behind, another one lying dead at her feet in a slowly growing pool of blood. Great ugly rents were torn in his body where her bullets had exited. Her eyes were wide, and she spat innumerable curses towards her enemy as she groped for her knife. Zhuli moved to rush to her aid, but a set of arms wrapped around her, the foul breath of an Alfheicher soldier filling her nose. She swung wildly with her sword, only to have her hand grasped in the vice-like grip of another. Slowly, the weapon was prized from her grip. She knew what would come next. Already, they were dragging her comrade away, her screams echoing off the buildings as she struggled. Hands tugged at her uniform, and as she struggled, a knife appeared, pressing against her throat. With manic strength she seized hold of a grenade from the belt of the enemy, barely managing to rip the pin free from its housing as she heard the sound of tearing cloth, rough hands grabbing at her body. The ensuing explosion brought death to all.[/quote] June 21, 1939: The largest air bombing campaign of the war thus far reduces much of the city to rubble, with its embattled defenders finally laying down arms after their ammunition stores are destroyed in the bombing, the blast kills thousands, and the mushroom cloud from the explosion is visible from dozens of kilometers away. June 22, 1939: The atrocity known as the Zhanghei massacre commences. Its estimated death toll ranges from approximately 450,000-790,000. Survivors recount mass rape and mass executions. ██████ ███████████ ████ ██ ██████████ ██████. The accounts of atrocity that followed the victory of the Reiyk were so varied, horrific, and widespread that at first many within the nation and abroad began to believe they were nothing but hoaxes, until smuggled photographs were published in national media. ██████, ████ ███ ██████████ ███████████████ ██████. ████ ██ thousands of ██████ and ████████ ████ are stripped naked, beaten, raped, or ████████████ ██████ ████████████, before those that can still walk are marched into the river that runs through the center of the city to drown or are shot by machine guns positioned for the purpose. Those attempting to swim downriver are shot by riflemen on the banks. The river, at one point, becomes so choked with corpses that it bursts its banks, and in the weeks following Fusoan fishermen begin to find their nets filled with Longzhen remains. The soldiers of the Reiyk ████████ ████ ██ ██████ approximately fifteen hundred ████ of the ████ and ██████ ███████ until halted by sunset. Officers of captured units were frequently subjected to the harshest abuses, and ██████ in ████████████ was widespread. Another favorite punishment was the ██████████ of officers followed by arming them with a knife and placing them in ████ with starved █████████ in a form of gladiatorial combat and ██████. In one particularly noted incident, four thousand prisoners of the elite “Gaozi” division that had held up the advance of Army Group Dracus North for a full day are forced into the empty shell of the █████████████ that once ██████████ ██████ ███ ██████ that had struggled against those of the Reiyk. Many of the civilian populace are made to assist in the ignition of a massive fire in ██████ ██ ███ ███████████, which quickly begins to engulf the entire structure. Machine guns positioned by the entrances are used to gun down those who attempt to flee. [quote]Marcus Drittus vab Scipi looked on the burning husk of the Zhanghei tank factory in amusement. The demons within screamed in their choked, twisted language. Marcus smiled, calling to the demons trapped within. “Looks pretty warm in there! You should join the others, take a dip in the river!” One guy wonders what they’re saying, another responds that he mostly hears cries for mothers and fathers “What are they saying, anyway?” Asked another man, his expression troubled. “They are calling for mothers and fathers, I think.” Said another, leaning on a nearby pillar with an easy grin. “Miuzinh - mother, informal. Tauzinh - father, informal.” He shook his head, “Strange, that.” The first man looked to him with visible confusion. “What’s strange?” The second man, Alfus, pushed himself off from the pillar, walking over to his comrade in arms and throwing his arm over his shoulder. “Well they hatch from eggs, remember? The Longguo Demons, that is. They don’t have mothers and fathers. They don’t even feel love for each other.” Marcus chimed in, “Don’t you remember, Flavijus? It’s a tactic they use to prey on our instincts. Did you doze off in class or something? They don’t feel love or many of the emotions we do. It’s why, like… you can do whatever you want with ‘em! They’re so damn small, too, they’re totally helpless. Hah! I fucked a dozen yesterday! Got tired after that and just shot ‘em.” The first man frowned, obviously not convinced. “Sure sounds real, though. It just… feels wrong? Marcus, you’ve been in the army for years - I was a farmhand! I’ve never seen a demon before now. I was expecting them to look… iunno… scarier. Bigger.” He sighed, “They just look like people.” Marcus scoffed, striding over to the man in question. “Ah don’t feel bad, kid, we all get that at first. Old Alfus here couldn’t kill one until we got him drunk enough. Remember it, Alfus?” Alfus grinned, winking. “Oh we did more before we killed her. Let me tell you - it’s almost a shame we gotta get rid of ‘em. They put up a fight alright, small as they are. Way more fun that way.” “And besides, greenie, they’d do the same to us. It’s us or them. Do you want some horned bitch to kill your father and start farming his land? Hah! That’s reason enough to get rid of this blasted country!” Flames licked up the side of the factory. The occasional burst of a machine gun heralded another failed attempt to escape the horrific fate they’d been consigned to. Thin grey flakes fell amongst the conversing soldiers. Ash. Ash from corpses. Ash from rubble. Ash from the factory that burned before them. The scene was painted in the gentle grey snow that fell amongst them, blanketing the scene. “Cheer up!” Said Alfus, “It may not be fun, but it’s for a good cause! We’re cleansing the world of their taint, taking our inheritance in hand! Each demon dead is more space for you to start your own family.” The flames intensified now, moving through the building with alacrity. The screams intensified sharply, and the clatter of machine guns opening up met the demand as hundreds surged for the entrance. Flames or bullets, that was the fate that awaited the “Gaozi” division. Marcus wondered whether the bodies would be cremated by the flames or not. Corpse disposal was an awful duty. [/quote] The massacre was estimated to run unchecked for over a full month. June 29, 1939. The Second Southern Army Group is forever stricken from the military roll. Its surviving members are rolled into the newly formed Third Southern Army Group, which is quickly filled with new, urgently redeployed reserve forces. The decision is made to expedite the approval of the Type 40 Medium Tank, intended to enter service in the year 1940 after final testing, owing to the inadequacy of the 20 year old light tanks that had formed the bulk of the Longguozhen mechanized forces through the slow reconstruction of an already war-damaged nation.