War Breaks Out Between the Southern Alliance and the Allied Effective
[Federal Kingdom of Vau’sena, Volios, Mokaia- 28 June 2053
Annalies Willems, Cosonan News Network]
On the morning of the 18th, the New Republic of Korlan launched a coordinated attack on Vau’sena, propelling Vau’sena and the Southern Alliance into war with Korlan and the Allied Effective. The opening of the war has seen fighting erupt through Korlanic naval assaults on the Volian city of Drapeta and the Kuwharan islands of Hokoihoko and Hokotae, as well as skirmishes against the Korlanic Army and an unmarked vessel on Sonder and in the Led Eteijer Sea, respectively.
Republic of Volios, Óplo County (Volios Dimokratía, Komiteía Óplo), Drapeta
The first shots of the war were fired against the City of Drapeta in Volios at 7:15 AM by the Korlanic Navy. The 3 hour-long assault heavily damaged the city’s port, which serves as a major port of entry for shipments to Ramisola from Western Ailou, Rheasilvia, and Eastern Zapita. Damages to the port and the danger presented by the Korlanic assault are expected to cost Volios upwards of VSP 70 billion in damages and lost trade this year, compounding Vau’senaan economic constraints felt though its loss of an economically-viable neighbor in the former Great Hegi and the existing restrictions to trade with Ailou due to the fracture of the South Samudric League over tensions between Vau’senaan and Korlanic-aligned nations.
Despite these constraints to the regional economy however, Volios has seen a massive wave of pro-Vau’senaan sentiment in the last week which has led nearly 90,000 people in the province to volunteer for military service, causing lines in some recruitment offices to stretch for nearly a kilometer in major cities as former conscripts rally to the nation’s defense. Volunteer organizations have been seen passing out food and water to those in line, much of which has been generously donated by local restaurants and food banks. Volian news networks have been closely following the developing tensions between Vau’sena and Korlan over Korlan’s recent claims to the Vau’senaan State of Kuwhara, which falls in line with the Ilfiatist policies of Korlanic Rangatira Ikaroa Storinka.
The Korlanic assault on the coastal city was quickly repelled by the arrival of Vau’senaan naval forces from Patrasini, which suceeded in driving Korlanic forces from Drapteta south where they met up with additional Korlanic forces surrounding the Kuwharan island province of Hokotae.
State of Kuwhara, Hokotae Province (Te Kawanatanga o Kuwhara, Rohe o Hokotae)
Just as the assault on the Volian city of Drapeta was commencing, Korlanic naval forces rushed to encircle the Kuwharan island province of Hokotae. Vau’senaan coastal defenses on Hokotae and on the Volian province of Toronae were quick to open fire on Korlanic forces, with over 43,000 losses being recorded on both sides in the opening hour of what is now being called the Battle of Hokotae. The Korlanic offensive has been stalled however as the Vau’senaan defense has launched a tactical nuclear strike onto amassed Korlanic forces in the Kuata Strait, with over 100,000 estimated Korlanic casualties amassed in the first wartime nuclear strike in Ulina’s history.
Aside from Hokotae’s nuclear team, the island’s defense has been spearheaded by the Naval and Air Forces stationed at Hērē Naval and Air Force base, which is home to Carrier Strike Group 4 led by the supercarrier CMV Kiti Firine'a. Military authorities have initiated an emergency draft of all eligible persons across Kuwhara to augment the joint volunteer and conscript forces currently in place, and a similar draft is expected to be enacted in the rest of the country in the coming weeks. The Korlanic blockade of Hokotae serves to severely limit how long the island can hold off against a protracted Korlanic assault, with food and ammunition reserves suddenly being placed under strict rations.
State of Kuwhara, Kumara Province (Te Kawanatanga o Kumara, Rohe o Kumara), Hokoihoko Pā
The small island of Hokoihoko, home to just over 50,000 people in the lone city of Hokoihoko Pā, has been the first Vau’senaan territory to fall victim to Korlanic invasion. The Naval and Air Force detachment garrisoned in the city endured 4 days of bombardment until Korlanic forces made landfall just after noon on the 22nd, taking the city center just before 11 PM. The occupation saw dozens of summary executions into the next two days, including both surviving defenders and local historians and biologists who warned occupying forces against opening the city’s “beetle wall” to occupy the rest of the island.
The island of Hokoihoko is home to the Maina Whenua Beetle, a type of beetle native only to the island which, when stepped on with over 35 kg (~80lbs) of force explodes with the force of a small hand grenade. The beetle saw extensive use by Kuwharans defending against Notogiite invasion in the 1300s as beetles would be placed under stairs in towers as landmines and in crossbow bolt tips made of soft lead, which would deform and detonate the bugs upon striking a solid surface. The city itself, which traditionally made its money through trade of the bugs, kept them out of the town by building a smooth wall which they would pour pepper oil over, as the beetles cannot climb greased surfaces and are repelled by the capsaicin which gives peppers their spice. Since occupying the town, the Korlanic forces have reportedly blasted open a section of the wall in order to occupy the island’s interior for a larger air base than exists within the walled town and for the construction of new coastal defenses. The island’s only hospital has come under severe strain as Korlanic soldiers coming into contact with the beetles pushes them to capacity, leaving some to speculate that the Vakasavuliga biocide compound may be used in the near future by occupying forces to clear out the dangerous wildlife.
Republic of Ponder, South Sonder Province (Repubblicam di Ponder, Provincae Ponder di Sudam), Pantofolaio
Gunfire rung out across the Sonder-Ponder border on the 19th as the Korlanic Army stationed in Sonder began shooting down anyone who came close to the border, civilian and military alike and leaving 46 dead. Very little supporting equipment has been observed with the attacking forces that is capable of supporting a true invasion, leaving military officials to speculate that the forces in Ponder are using the violence as a scare tactic to discourage an incursion by Vau’senaan forces into the North. Vau’senaan troops have advanced to monitor the situation, and several shootouts initiated by both sides have brought in another 22 fatalities and nearly 90 injuries as a result.
Vau’senaan rocket artillery stationed in Pantofolaio have begun a bombardment campaign against the Korlanic naval base established near the town of St. Frederick in Sonder. Despite Sonder’s official status as a territory of the Hegiite Unitary Republic, the central government’s absence during the Hegiite Civil War has given Warden Bean Jadanovic of Kundock Prison complete control over the island’s affairs. Under Jadanovic’s administration Sonder has aligned itself closely with Ikaroa Storinka and the New Republic of Korlan, culminating in the establishment of a Korlanic naval base near the Sonder-Ponder border at St. Frederick and the occupation of the entire territory by the Korlanic Army.
The outbreak of hostilities between Korlan and Vau’sena resulted in amassed Vau’senaan forces in Ponder being unable to deploy to the Southern Alliance member states of Etola, Mudkippia, Abantu, and Uraj Ah along with their attached firepower, which is being redirected at repelling Korlanic forces surrounding the strategic location of Ponder. Ponder also possesses a nuclear team similar to the one stationed in Hokotae, making any attempt at invasion by Korlan extremely risky.
During a routine patrol of the Led Eteijer Sea between the Kuwharan province of Hamatangi and the Dhrallic island of Pylerick, a Vau’senaan naval detachment came under attack by an unflagged vessel at about 7:20 PM on the 24th. The Vau’senaan naval report painted a grim picture of the encounter, with the vessel appearing out of nowhere and quickly dissecting the Vau’senaan defenders before disappearing in the same way that it came. Specific details concerning the attack remain classified, but the name of the ship has been revealed to be the S.S. Abaddon.
The rapid escalation of war by the Korlan and the Allied Effective seems to have caught Vau’sena and the Southern Alliance off-guard, with Abantu and Etola being left essentially unreachable since the outbreak of hostilities. The Vau’senaan carrier Strike Group 2 led by the CMV Asdas XVII has reported a major electrical outage across Etola, and the situation in Abantu is currently unknown. The new war will serve as a major test to Queen Lucerne I’s leadership, forcing her to balance the war with the Allied Effective with the existng war against Blackbird Criopt which came as a result of the 26 March attacks carried out by Blackbird terrorists under the leadership of Zuriel Nash.