Sovereign

"General Elias Holl gave a speech today near the Heiflitz City Hall, vowing to defend the city after days of determined assaults from Putschist Forces. In parallel, Her Majesty also addressed the nation in a televised address about the 'continued resistance' of all Royalist forces in the Grand Duchy, calling it a 'valiant and worthy sacrifice for the Kingdom'."

- ROCN News

"The cracks in the Grand Duchy's defenses widen! Defense Minister Geoffrey Heindhöff gave a press conference earlier this morning regarding the ongoing operations both in the City of Halia, the Royal Capital, and the City of Heiflitz down south. The elite LSS Mechs and Löwes of the III Armored Corps that broke through the Heiflitz defense lines are still embroiled in heavy combat, but it is clear that Royalist defenders are now shattered and routing from Heiflitz. Inch by inch, the revolution closes into the Royal Capital. It is only a matter of time until we find our foolish 'Queen' off in either Rebenslof or Eutstadt. It is not a matter of if - but when."

- The Front Newspaper

+++

75th Field Artillery Battalion

West of Halia

Field Artillery Deployment Zone Two

Behind the hotspots of the frontlines west of Halia, Field Artillery Units (attached as Field Artillery Battalions to individual field brigades operating in the front) had been consolidated and organized by Fire Support Units (ad hoc Command and Control units) in order to better coordinate their fire in a centralized approach. It was in response to the sheer scale of the battle, where individual action meant less and less in its effects on the front.

They were now spread out and deployed in FADZs (Field Artillery Deployment Zones) where they were camouflaged and given sufficient air cover by Royalist REGAL SAM Battalions, which gave them better protection both from counterbattery fire and air strikes. Colonel Robin Carwell's 75th Field Artillery Battalion was no different. Assigned under Fire Support Unit One's Command, he awaited the next set of coordinates over the radio.

He wasn't really a massive whiner, but he wondered why they couldn't just aid his fellow brothers in the 35th Combined Arms Brigade engaged with a Putschist assault in the frontlines west of them. JTF-Ludendorf's centralization of artillery command and control was something he both hated but gave credence to.

He left his little command tent to take a breath outside. In an almost checkerboard position, hidden by the trees, foliage, and artificial camouflage, he could see his artillerymen dutifully manning his scattered M45 Self-Propelled Guns (SPGs). Massive beasts armed with a one-fifty-five millimeter gun. The backbone of the OAF's artillery force.

All of their barrels were still aimed at the sky, in the same direction as their last barrage ten minutes ago. He walked forward, through the chattering men, or those who tossed spent shell casings from atop the M45 turrets, or those who smoked cigars or played card games with each other.

They're just passing the time. He told himself. Naturally.

Being an artilleryman was always thought of as the cushiest frontline job in the Army. He placed doubts upon it, but perhaps it was true. You just had to drive your SPG, hide it, then wait for the coordinates. Once it was given, you took calculations and aimed, then fired. Rinse and repeat until someone warns of counter-battery fire, where you would have to relocate and hide again. Rinse and repeat, and before you knew it, you'd have fired a hundred shells before the night fell.

And the only thing that would bear down on you was that question. How many? How many souls have you unjustly sent to their deaths? To kill from afar, that was their job. To kill without even seeing the result of their macabre masterpiece.

The power of artillery, he knew, was the centerpiece of the battlefield. It was created to demolish ranks of troops, morale, and walls. There weren't walls to demolish nowadays, but there sure were a lot of troops to be liquidated - and morale to be drained.

"Colonel!" One of his officers, his second in command, called. "Fourteen of our SPGs are ready. Zebra Two and Five wore down their barrels though."

"Two down?" The officer nodded. "We're gonna have to request for replacement and maintenance again."

The officer took a cigar as he shook his head, looking back at one of the SPGs parked beside the two near the treeline. It was hidden by a net of foliage.

"Gonna be a pain, sir."

"Yep, logistics are fucked as it is. Seems like we're down to sixteen now."

"Temporarily."

"Optimistic, huh? I like that." The Colonel sighed to himself as another rumble of distant artillery fire sounded. "Seems like they would have new targets."

He bid him goodbye and returned to his command tent. The staff inside were all lounging around, some even drinking wine as they tapped through their screens, until one of them called over.

Coordinates.

One by one, they assigned a targeted grid for each of his sixteen available SPGs. They were all aiming for Heiflitz. He wondered why, but at this point, it was simply unproductive to ask the Fire Support Unit why they gave those orders. Better to just follow them.

He looked outside and held his radio in hand. Each of his SPGs turned their turrets and elevated their gun barrels in the direction of their target. All they awaited now was the command.

"All units, fire."

It was a beautiful orchestra of war.

+++

Queen's Bunker

Her Majesty's Office

"You seem quite satisfied with yourself, William," Amelie said as she dropped a file on her desk, all while William listened to the reports on his laptop. "I'm quite concerned."

"Oh, well, I do apologize for that," William said as his normal expression returned. It was almost as if he just won a lotto or something, and Amelie had an inkling of thought that whatever he was gleeful about, only someone with his loose screws would be happy about it.

"Tell me about it."

"Remember their assault into Heiflitz?"

"It's all I have in my head." Amelie sighed as she fell to her soft seat. "William, this war really sucks."

"Thanks for the obvious, Your Majesty."

Amelie snorted.

"Shut up."

"Anyhow, we had some win this hour."

"Well, good news for once." Amelie leaned forward, interested. "What exactly is it?"

"We caught an entire Republican Light Mech Division in transit. Their columns were moving into Heiflitz when our remaining forward observers spotted it." Amelie nodded along. "We took the initiative and organized half of Halia's Field Artillery Battalions to take aim. The reports are just coming in. Their assault stopped."

"Good goddess, that's great. But I don't see why you're that happy."

"Not happy. Lots of people died. Still, the bet paid off. I rarely get this satisfied."

"A bet?" Amelie narrowed her eyes. "You like bets?"

"Absolutely." William closed his laptop and turned to Amelie. "You want me to make a bet?"

"...Sure?"

"Tonight…they're going to try to bring those bridges down." Amelie felt her stomach turning upside down. "What about you? Do you have any bets?"

Amelie felt quite appalled. Making bets about the lives of people? Military men really were quite something, she thought. Or perhaps William at this point just didn't even see deaths as anything but trivial.

She felt pity for him.

"I…suppose, if there's any bet I shall make…I trust General Holl that he can defend those bridges. Those bridges aren't going down, even if they are attacked."

William nodded, while Amelie silently prayed that her bet would come true. She absolutely did not want to lose Heiflitz or to see General Holl and his men trapped on the other side. She would not be able to forgive herself.

"Well, I'll bet on that as well." He took his cup of coffee, drank it, and stood up. "Some optimism is nice once in a while. I'll be off."

"Where?"

"War Room. The officers want an update on our plans."

"Should I go?"

"Not really. Maybe go check out on Alice? Your little sister's been…quite under the weather for a while. Being in the bunker certainly does not fit the Royal lifestyle."

"I do want a nice stroll on the Palace gardens for once…" Amelie muttered, as her mind drifted to Alice. "Alright, good luck dealing with those officers."

"To you too." He took his files and left her room. Amelie could only look at the Orlish Tricolor on the other side of the room, near the paintings on the wall.

This Kingdom…is quite the pain to save.

She shook her head and sipped the last of her tea.

William, you rascal. She thought to herself. You're really turning me into a military leader.

+++

Queen's Bunker

Situation Room

Both of their bets weren't off.

"Well, at the very least, they failed," Amelie said as she settled down in her seat. "It could have been worse."

They watched as the footage of the strikes was shown. There were five Putschist Zappers, taking turns over a three-minute period to hit the "Emerald Bridge'', the main bridge that connected Halia and Heiflitz.

The first one came close, but a sudden SAM interceptor forced it off its attack run, failing at dropping its laser-guided bombs.

Two missiles came thirty seconds later, but it was once more foiled by two SAM interceptors. The third Zapper made another attempt, but it was shot down before it had a chance to drop its missiles.

Amelie watched the last two Zappers, both failing at launching their missiles, forced back by AAA gunfire from ground-based RPDS systems, subtly chuckling to herself about the success of her AA systems around Heiflitz and Halia.

Not bad. She thought to herself. At least our efforts paid off.

"Then this means we must hasten the retreat from Heiflitz, no?" She asked as both Colonel Kleist and William nodded. "Well, it is what it is…I suppose we have no choice but to lose our land connection to the south."

"That said…" William started. "It may not be as bad as it seems."

"Why's that?"

"General Albrecht is already organizing two Army Corps to push them off from the south."

"Really?" Amelie felt her mood rise. She thought their forces in the south were really badly weakened, which was why the prospects of losing Heiflitz turned her stomach upside down. It would be too hard to retake it.

"If General Holl can tire them in a slow retreat, they would fail to consolidate control over Heiflitz," William said, confident to himself. After all, he did get that update from General Albrecht himself. If the man leading the Armed Forces said it, he was sure. "Tire them further in this battle, and General Albrecht will find it easy to restore land connection from the south."

"You do have a point," Amelie mumbled. "This battle has been very costly to them. They've been trying to storm our defenses endlessly for months."

She looked back at the footage of the downed Putschist Zapper. The enemy had been bleeding themselves hard just to chip through her defenses, she thought. If her troops took such ludicrous losses, they should be just as weakened.

Just when they go all in on their assault on both Halia and Heiflitz…if we time it right, we can push them back successfully.

She knew well that fresh forces would do well at fighting soldiers stuck in the same battle for months. They have since kept many of the fresh reinforcements from Rebenslof in reserve and with General Albrecht's plans from the south…

Coordinate it, and our fresh forces will meet them while they are bashing their heads into our defenses. She smiled. Her strategic brilliance was now shining through. She could already see it - her ploy. Her scheme in order to push them back from the Royal Capital.

A well-coordinated counter-attack, right when they would be at their limits.

Oh, she could already see its results. When her soldiers finally rose from their trenches once their last assaults flunked. When they pushed them back, hot on their tails to the Ludendorf River, forcing them to abandon everything just to escape.

It would be a victory like no other!

"Bad news." She heard Colonel Kleist say, breaking her off from her internal musings. "They brought down one of the bridges."

"Crap." That was all William said, and Amelie shared the same sentiments.

"How are General Holl's forces doing?" Amelie asked. "Are they retreating?"

"He's speeding it up. No other choice. More Putschist air strikes are inbound." His voice grew heavy. "We have to move more REGAL SAM systems."

"Do it. Do anything to cover his retreat." Amelie said, her voice final. There weren't many civilian targets left in Halia anyway. General Holl and HEICOMM's forces were the new priority.

"I'll see to it, Your Majesty."