Operation Stella Maris
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PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE
NEW BIRMINGHAM
09.47, MARCH 28TH, 2021“…and so we’re agreed on that. Now our final item of business is, I think, the most important one, and the reason we’re meeting on Palm Sunday. Nigel, can we start with a briefing on the situation with Neo-Venetia?”
Nigel Martin, the Foreign Affairs Minister, cleared his throat.
“Ahem. Thanks boss. As you all know, on the morning of March 3rd, our Inimican neighbours raided Neo-Venetia and successfully captured a number of NV regime operatives, albeit at the cost of several Inimican casualties.”
“The situation in Neo-Venetia has been dramatically destabilised as a result of this raid. The leadership feel extremely insecure about their ability to defend themselves, let alone their country. We understand that Paul Ambrogio repeatedly asked to be moved before his capture, and was refused; what happened to him has upset a lot of mid-ranking regime officials.”
“Further discontent has followed from GenSec Tony Moscati’s decision to high-tail it to the UNSR for a celebration of the first anniversary of the UNSR’s conflict with Reitzmag. Especially since March 24th, Wednesday, was the first anniversary of the so-called revolution in Neo-Venetia. He was out of the country for that, and we believe he still is. John Dalza led the parade in Neo-Venetia city instead.”
Nigel sat back in his chair. After a brief silence, Emryc leaned forward.
“Great, thanks Nigel. I’d like to put it to you all that we go tonight.”
“We what?” asked Martha Lane.
“We start Stella Maris tonight.”
Some muttering erupted around the table. Stella Maris was the long-established codename for the invasion of Neo-Venetia, a plan that had been developed over several years and, for the last year, had been kept in a state of preparation, so it could commence with 12 hours’ notice.
“It’s clear from what Nigel said that the Neo-Venetian regime is in a state of relative disarray, with their leader out of the country. It’s also in our interests to act relatively soon after the capture of the officials responsible for the attack on the Inimican Emperor, when sympathy with the regime will be even lower than normal. I’d like to invite the Chief of Staff of His Majesty’s Armed Services, Field Marshal Peter Timpson, to brief us on the plan.”
The Field Marshal, dressed in full military regalia, strode into the Cabinet room, followed by a portable whiteboard with a large map of Neo-Venetia.
“Our current border with Neo-Venetia is highlighted in blue. Our war aims from this operation are the dotted blue line. As you’ll know, we do not intend to enter the Hatay or Jezreel areas. Our primary diplomatic aim is to ensure buy-in from the Duxburians, and both those areas have been identified by this government and its predecessors as points of strategic importance to the DU. Therefore, Stella Maris stops at those blue lines.”
“To get to those blue lines, our first priority is a general cyberattack on Neo-Venetia. We intend to commence this sometime after 10pm tonight. Our intelligence is that Neo-Venetia’s political situation over the last 12 years has meant that many of its public and formerly private sector networks are outdated and vulnerable.”
“I should stress that this is primarily to shut down civilian communications, and will be primarily targeted at the eastern area, so as to give cover to our initial assault. We intend to knock out, for a couple of hours, their electricity, their Internet, and their phones. Blackouts of these things aren’t uncommon in Neo-Venetia, but all of them at the same time will be recognised quite quickly as suspicious; but the few minutes we get before that, and the additional time before they work out exactly what’s going on and respond, will help us. We have very little element of surprise here, so it’s important that we get what we can.”
One hand went up. “Sorry, sorry – Matthew Earle, Minister for Health. Field Marshal, are we knocking out their communications here, then?”
“Not really, no. Yes, we’ll cause problems for them, and especially for the SRA, which mostly operates over Signal, but our attack is on civilian infrastructure first and foremost. Neo-Venetia’s military is quite old-school and their tech is so outdated that it’s actually quite difficult to attack. The main thing here isn’t disrupting their comms, it’s making it harder for them to recognise what’s going on in the first place.”
“Now, we’ve assembled about a third of our ground forces and half our air force for this mission. We do not expect to have to use all of those resources at the same time; but this is essentially the limit of what basic defence capabilities, plus our commitments in Dromund Kaas, allow. This means we have 220,000 men.”
“We will outnumber them, just about. Neo-Venetia has about 9.8 million people, but an extraordinarily high number of troops – around 200,000, all in all. However, we have a significant advantage in technology and equipment. In short, Angleter has an experienced, modern armed forces; Neo-Venetia’s regime has a combination of about 150,000 men in an ‘official’ army with the kind of equipment we’d expect to have been up against in the 1980s; plus 50,000 disorganised auxiliaries in the SRA.”
“Where their forces excel, however, is urban and asymmetric warfare. We can expect the SRA to revert to an insurgency after the successful completion of Stella Maris, and also to launch terrorist attacks against Angleter more broadly. The official army, however, will likely seek to draw us into protracted urban struggles, where our advantage will be less strong. We’ve seen from the Inimican raid that they have a strong focus on anti-air which, combined with an urban setting where civilians are involved, will threaten to neutralise our air superiority. This is why it’s vital that we capture as many urban areas as possible at the start of the operation.”
Emryc raised a hand to stop the Field Marshal.
“Thanks, Field Marshal. I don’t want to go too far into the operation plan. You’ll see a briefing on that on your desks; please do not take them with you. Does anybody want a Q&A before we decide on this? I should stress this is a vote on the principle of starting Stella Maris tonight; we can still discuss, to an extent, individual aspects of the plan. Anyone? No? OK, show of hands – all for Stella Maris tonight?”
All hands went up.
“Then we’re agreed. Field Marshal, if you can communicate that to General Andrews, and we can start final preparations; and then if you could come back to answer any questions we have.”
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PATROL BOAT HMAS WELLS
LEONTES RIVER, NEAR THE ANGLETERIC-NEO VENETIAN BORDER
22.11, MARCH 28TH, 2021Angleter’s seven patrol boats, plus a gradually growing contingent of civilian ferries, had been stationed near the border for months, awaiting the war that never came.
Except on Sunday morning, it did come. Captain John Broeker was instructed that, around 10pm that night, he’d finally be doing the operation he’d been preparing for months.
At 9.57pm, he’d watched as the lights went off in Caparnaon, and along the Neo-Venetian side of the border. The Neo-Venetians had a couple of ferries with artillery shoddily attached, but nothing more. A small platoon of Neo-Venetian sentries on either bank was briefly thrown into confusion by the blackout, before returning to their guard.
Captain Broeker waited. And waited. And waited. Every minute was like another hour in the darkness. And then the radio squawked.
“Stella Maris, Stella Maris, all units go. I repeat, all units go. Over.”
Broeker was slightly startled, and waited a few seconds before barking out instructions to his crew. He saw the sentries inevitably get picked off by Angleteric snipers as the Wells entered Neo-Venetian waters. Seconds later, before they could react to the incursion, the Neo-Venetian ferries had been hit by ground artillery and aerial bombs alike.
The generals’ assumption that the river and its banks would be the weak point of the Neo-Venetian border defences had proven correct. Broeker continued downstream, leading a convoy of patrol boats and ferries, each overloaded with ground troops.
One patrol boat each was dispatched with a total of ten ferries – about 500 men in total – towards Carmiel and Zecanin, where next to no resistance was expected. Another two boats, with another fifteen ferries – about 800 men in total – were sent to Tabaria.
Broeker was part of the largest group – three patrol boats, plus twenty ferries – about 1200 men being sent to capture Caparnaon. Caparnaon’s proximity to the border meant that it had a large military presence, estimated at around 3,000 men. Therefore, another 800 men would paradrop into the city and help secure it.
And now, the moment had come.“Wells, Wells, come in, Wells, over.”
“Command, this is Wells, over.”
“Wells, please proceed to Point D. Repeat, Point D. Hostiles at Points A, B, and C. Over/”
This was not good news. He always expected the element of surprise to be weakest at Caparnaon, but Point D was the nearest and trickiest landing point. The fact that NV troops had already lined the river at Points A, B, and C meant that he would have minutes to complete an extraordinary logistical feat.
“Group A, this is Wells. We’re under orders to make land at Point D, I repeat, Point D. Prepare to make land in three minutes, three minutes.”
The patrol boats lined up, just offshore, with a couple of the ferries. They set out ramps, disembarked, and waded to shore, where they set up a basic defensive formation. These boats then moved on, and the next group did the same, then the next, then the next.
“Command, this is Group A,” radioed in Lt Col Maron Amar, who was in command of the ground phase of the operation. “Ready for Phase 2, sitrep? Over.”
“Group A, this is command. Hostiles headed your way. Paradrop successful and hostiles headed towards them also. Proceed with Phase 2. Over.”
The troops fanned out, securing police stations and government buildings, and implementing a curfew in the areas they controlled. That was, until they encountered the Neo-Venetian army.
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OUTSIDE NEO-VENETIAN BARRACKS
CENTRAL CAPARNAON, NEO-VENETIA
23.36, MARCH 28TH, 2021Lt Col Amar radio'ed HQ. "Command, this is Group A. Hostiles retreating to barracks, repeat, hostiles repeat- I mean, retreating to barracks. Over."
"Group A, this is Command. Maintain perimeter. Sitrep on anti-air capabilities?"
"Indeterminate."
"OK. Group A, offer surrender terms with a deadline of 0000. Be advised that hostiles are heading your way from the border. Aerial support will be focussed on preventing a breakout from the barracks in the event there is no surrender. Understood?"
"Understood."
Lt Col Amar ordered his troops to cease fire and commandeered a loudhailer.
"HOSTILE FORCES: YOU HAVE UNTIL 0000 TO SURRENDER. YOU HAVE UNTIL MIDNIGHT TO SURRENDER."
There was a brief silence before a single gunshot rang out and Lt Col Amar's loudhailer shattered into pieces. He commanded his men to resume fire. They had 24 minutes to hold out.
00.01, MARCH 29TH, 2021
"Command, this is Group A. No surrender has been made. No surrender. We're getting pushed back, aerial support requested."
"Affirmative. Hold tight Group A, aerial support is three minutes out."
After a few minutes of sporadic fighting, the rumble of aircraft above the barracks reached a crescendo. Drones flew into the barracks and took out many of the barracks' anti-air guns, before the first bombs started to drop.
"Artillery, fire!" Lt Col Amar shouted over radio. The barracks was being pummelled by bombs and missiles from all directions. The bombing continued for half an hour until a makeshift white flag was flown and the surviving Neo-Venetian commander surrendered. The Neo-Venetian troops were disarmed and held in extremely cramped local jails and barrack quarters overnight, pending processing after dawn.
"Group A, this is Command. Your orders are to send an advance group north towards the northern border. Reinforcements will secure Caparnaon in the morning. We control the entire riverbank as far as Carmiel. Groups B and C have attempted to take out the barracks between Carmiel and Ponovo, but that part of the operation has been unsuccessful. All groups are now ordered to encircle the remaining pockets of hostile resistance in their areas."
"OK. Over."
Area of Angleteric control at 0500, March 29th. -
UNNAMED LOCATION
EAST OF CARMIEL, NEO-VENETIA
15.43, APRIL 1ST, 2021The Angleteric Army had commenced its general assault on Neo-Venetia the morning after Stella Maris began. The amphibious attack along the river had the desired effect of throwing the Communist and Social Republican forces into confusion, and the Caparnaon pocket had been eliminated, and the entire southern bank of the river was controlled up to Zecanin, with another stretch of Angleteric-controlled territory going from Zecanin to the southern border.
Captain James Bishop had the misfortune of being stationed at the most stubborn holdout, the north bank near Carmiel. The Communist barracks east of Carmiel had mobilised quickly on the night of the 29th, and by the 30th, Angleter was holding onto Carmiel by the skin of its teeth. The situation had stabilised, with the front line about a few miles east of Carmiel's outskirts, but the north bank from there to where the river met the border was all Neo-Venetian.
"All units, attack! All units, attack!" The radio squawked and Bishop and his men sprung into action. Again. This was the fourth time in the last 24 hours.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Bishop muttered as gunfire came his way once again, from the surprisingly well-camouflaged Neo-Venetian troops. In the corner of his eye, he saw one of his men drop to the ground. "Come on, advance!"
"Advance! Advance!" Bishop heard his orders ring out as he marched forward, amidst the gunfire. Maybe this time they were getting somewhere. Occasionally the gunfire from one of the Communists' foxholes would stop. Occasionally an Angleteric bomber would do its work and a couple of bodies would fly up in the air. Occasionally one of his own men would fly up in the air. And then he took another step. And then he heard a click.
"Shit! Get down! Get down!" It was Captain Bishop's final order.
Commandant Andrew Derzi made sure that as much of Captain Bishop's body was recovered before the end of the day's operations. Once that was done, the spot on which the captain had last stood fell behind enemy lines again, and the daily report reached Command.
"We lost another 18 men in East Carmiel today, sir."
Field Marshal Timpson brooded over the news. Though he'd served in Dromund Kaas for a decade, he hadn't been used to these numbers, or this action, for several years.
"We know from DK that stubborn pockets sometimes aren't worth pursuing. Get the navy and airforce to maintain control over the river, and have East Carmiel hold the line and entrench. These fuckers can't interfere with our main operation if we pen them in there. And increase the bombing. They've fanned out of the barracks and the villages; it's just empty space. Everywhere else, we go on."
Area of Angleteric control at 0001, April 2nd. -
ACCO HARBOUR
ACCO, NEO-VENETIA
6.58, APRIL 4TH, 2021
"Would you look at that?"
"Extraordinary, isn't it? Did you ever think you'd see the day?"
"Once, in 2008, I thought we'd hold onto it. But after Khatkar... no."
"I hear you, mate. I always hoped, but I never expected. Not after DK too. But look. And we're the first."
"Do you think?"
"Yeah, I think so. Do you want to say it, or me?"
"Say what?"
"Our coastline. This is our coastline. And this: this is our sea."
"Our fucking sea! I'll drink to that, mate."
The two soldiers toasted with their water bottles. One of them took out a giant Angleteric flag, unfurling it from his backpack. He dipped the flag in the seawater before fastening it to the railings on the edge of the harbour.
"One day we'll have a yacht out here."
Area of Angleteric control at 1200, April 4th. -
PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE
NEW BIRMINGHAM
08.00, APRIL 5TH, 2021
"Thanks everyone for the early start." Emryc Isla started the meeting, slightly bleary-eyed, before downing his enormous #NOREFUGEES mug of coffee. "I try to keep these to a minimum, as you know, but you'll also know that today marks seven - well, seven and a half - days since the start of our operation in Neo-Venetia, Stella Maris. I'm going to start by giving a short briefing myself on the situation as it stands, and then Field Marshal Timpson will brief you on future plans."
"So, if you look at the map, you'll see we've made significant progress, especially over the last three days. We've met with comparatively little resistance, even in some cities that had been home to Communist and SRA troops before the start of Stella Maris. It's clear that the initial operation was successful in spreading confusion among the regime forces, and that's enabled us to take a number of cities and towns. We took Caparnaon, Tabaria, Carmiel, and Zecanin on the night of March 28th, followed by a short gap. On the 2nd we took Ponovo and Cavalieri; on the 4th we took Acco with no resistance, and reached the coastline; and later yesterday we entered Raffanea, Archas, Santegidio, and Gibelet. Now we've got our tanks and cars to the frontline, progress has been a lot quicker than in the logistical nightmare following the initial operation."
"Unfortunately, our progress is likely to halt in the coming 48 hours. As we predicted, the Communist forces have largely abandoned the plains for the cities and, regrettably, the mountains too. This is their forte. Fighting continues on the outskirts of Raffanea, and as you can see, there are pockets of serious regime resistance in Megido, Southern Caesarea, Antioch, the countryside to the east of Carmiel, the mountainous border areas, and most of all, Neo-Venetia city. This is expected to be the hardest slog. Field Marshal Timpson will now take you through how we plan to address this issue."
Emryc called the Field Marshal over, and he stood by the map.
"We intend to focus in the coming 48-72 hours on clearing the northern plains of resistance as far as Hatay. This will mark the end of Stella Maris as an operation. Two new operations will follow."
"The first of these is Operation Stylites. This will be focussed on the mountain region and the heavily-mined countryside east of Carmiel. Our campaign there will take on the characteristics of a counter-insurgency strategy, which we expect to last in some form beyond the completion of the main phase of the conflict. Our first goals under Stylites will be to completely secure the main towns - the remainder of Raffanea, plus Ferrand and Marra - and to destroy the barracks southeast of Ferrand, which appears to be intended as a mountain redoubt."
"The good news, on that note, is that we fully expect Stella Maris to cut almost all regime forces off from their mountain redoubt within 24 hours. Only about 20,000 men can be expected to hold out there, based on where we intend to reach the border, hopefully later today."
"The second operation is Operation Ouranos. Ouranos is an urban warfare campaign based on the fact that Antioch, Neo-Venetia, Megido, and Southern Caesarea have become de facto military bases. We intend that the next two weeks will be an aerial-led campaign, focussed on eliminating the integrity of the regime's urban warfare capabilities."
"I'll be frank here and say that we must expect significant civilian casualties. We can and will act based on the highest quality intelligence. We can and will provide warnings, generally and, where appropriate, in specific circumstances. But at this point, the regime's modus operandi has become clear. They will use civilian buildings for military purposes, both for anti-air and ground activities. They will use civilians as human shields."
"The second phase of Ouranos will be ground-based, and that will be the completion of the main phase of the conflict; but please recognise that we can only do this successfully, and without significant losses, including civilian losses, on the ground without first preparing the ground from the air."
"Thanks, Field Marshal. I know what's been said there is quite significant, so I'll open the floor to questions."
One hand shot up. "Nigel Martin, Foreign Affairs. As we all know, the last time we went into NV, we had to withdraw due to foreign pressure. How can we expect to maintain the goodwill of the rest of Europe if we're bombing these cities to hell? You're breaking my equipment before I go out to bat here."
"That's a good question, minister," replied the Field Marshal. "It's not for me to lay out the diplomatic situation; but I should stress we will always try to keep civilian casualties to a minimum. The route we're taking is actually the route of least death."
"The route of least fucking death! I'll use that one on the Inquistan ambassador. Fucking hell."
Martha Lane piped up. "Well, it's not like the Inquistans can complain about bombi-"
The cabinet started talking over each other until Emryc banged the table with his coffee mug.
"Look. Nigel, you know as well as I do that our improved diplomatic situation is as much down to our increased strength as anything else. I'm confident we can get through this fine. Europeans get much worse news images every day than any propaganda the CPNV or SRA will be able to come up with."
A few more, more mundane, questions followed.
"Right, I think that'll do. I want to have a vote now. All in favour of Stylites and Ouranos?"
Nigel Martin interjected. "We're voting on them together?!"
"Yes. Would you like to vote separately, Nigel."
Nigel shook his head, slightly exasperated, and raised his hand. The others all raised their hands.
"Then it's agreed. Field Marshal, keep us posted. Thank you."