The Eastern Continent and the coastal seas to the west have trembled with great force as the four nations of our planet have deployed everything possible to decide this matter which has weighed on the consciousness of Takomen for many weeks. The moments that the strategists of our four nations have prophesied and prepared their respective people for since December have finally transpired. After an extremely great level of violence at sea and on land over the last several days, Kantaria and Likuria have achieved most of the planned objectives. Barring an enemy miracle, the situation is irreversible on the Western Front and catastrophic losses of troops, equipment, and territory will be inflicted by our spearheads and their supporting units by the end of the month. There is sheer jubilation within the hearts of the people of Likuria and Kantaria. The Bengarians and Wesitarians desperately hope a miracle will at least partially erase what we have achieved and expect to achieve on the Western Front. Their victory at the Kotorei River after a heroic defense by our understrength forces there have mitigated somewhat our successes and prevent their morale from bottoming out, but otherwise their position is utterly unenviable.

Our forces consolidated, stockpiled, and drilled as much as they could across the continent leading up to the invasions. The Strategic Officers contributed by overseeing these various preparations, making last-minute amendments and tweaks to our plans, and galvanizing our troops and people. The last job is often left to me since I am extremely adept at such endeavors. Up to the evening we began the first series of landings south of Kalobol, I addressed our soldiers and junior officers, the ones who would be sacrificing most of all to achieve our nation's aspirations. I repeatedly reminded them that they comprised the most capable military on our planet per capita, and that even if success is delayed or even completely unforthcoming, they are the best troops our planet has to offer. I wanted to prepare them for failure while not dwelling on such an outcome enough to dampen their spirits. I was very fearful we would have limited success or worse for all our expenditures of ammunition and blood, but I was also confident based on the data I was being given that the enemy would at least incur heavy losses and lose substantial ground which was extensively fortified. 

On 19 and 20 February, celebrations which doubled as planning sessions for the strategists of Kantaria and Likuria were held at Marietta, Mirukan, and a few other locations. Supreme Strategist Cometai from Likuria met with me and Perredine and other strategists from both nations at an event in Mirukan. I wanted to ensure the senior echelons of both powers were aware of what was expected of each of us and when. We came to the following understandings:

1.) In the early afternoon of 20 February, after a very intense preparatory bombardment (one which would follow the several we had conducted over the last week) by our naval forces, 75k Kantarian and 20k Likurian marines would land 100 km north of the Narenda Line and 300 km south of Kalobol, and work in concert with regular units to the south to encircle and destroy/capture the 2nd Wesitarian Grand Army and its Kalobol Line fortifications. We expected there to be 130 Likurian and 260 Kantarian warships to conduct shore bombardment and protection, including 40 capital vessels and various other assets.

2.) 50 Likurian and 100 Kantarian warships would bombard the Cameron Islands (which would be renamed Kaleusthes Island if it was captured; Cometai was not at all surprised to hear this) on 20 February to inflict further destruction upon static defenses which could harm our marines and transports, and to apply additional pressure on their naval forces that have been on the defensive for days.

3.) On 22 February in the late morning, 100 Likurian and 230 Kantarian vessels- including 32 capital ships- would conduct final shore bombardment and transport protection while 60k Kantarian and 15k Likurian marines landed on the islands. We only had 450 Pathforger panzers in our entire inventory to send on our various missions, and since this was one which was both critical and expected to be the most stubborn, 320 of them would be sent on the island chain, 260 on the main island alone. We feared casualties as high as 50% amongst the marine forces.

4.) Starting on 22 February, the 10k Kantarian and 3,800 Likurian panzers amassed along the Western Front would begin their great drives northward at three locations, blasting through the segments of the Kalobol Line we had weakened through our numerous raids and fighting off counterattacks by a numerically superior opponent. While the panzers dueled with the static defenses and vast counterattacking panzer formations, they would also protect the mounted infantry behind them and commence encircling as many as 1 million enemy personnel. The mounted infantry would dismount at certain locations to reduce the effectiveness and likelihood of breakouts. During this Invasion Phase, 75k Kantarian paratroopers and 900 airborne panzers would land at various locations to further disrupt the enemy's attempts to reinforce and maneuver. 

This would be the main event of the campaign, and the number of explosions and casualties would dwarf anything our war-weary continent has ever seen heretofore. We had intended to start it simultaneously with the first marine assaults, but we decided it would be better to have them pause to try to confuse the enemy strategists. If they believed we were primarily after the 300 km of space and fortifications near the coast and we were not ready to start the operations further inland, they would divert reserves to the area and leave themselves off balance when we did attack. This would outweigh the benefit we would attain by a general Western Front offensive in conjunction with the southern marine drives on the 20th.

5.) If we deemed it feasible, we would launch a northern marine landing north of Kalobol on the continent by 23 February, with perhaps as many as 40k Kantarian and 40k Likurian Marines, and 23k Kantarian paratroopers. Heavy resistance or mishaps would cause diversions of reserve strength and would cause this planned operation to be scaled back or postponed until perhaps March. 

6.) From 24-29 February the massive formations on the mainland would complete and strengthen their envelopments of between 400-1,000k enemy forces, and hopefully destroy (cause to surrender or kill- preferably by far the former) most of the pockets by 1 March. During this same time, the marines fighting on Cameron/Kaleusthes Island would hopefully fully secure the complex (preferably with at least some of it intact or quickly restored). We planned to begin using the location as a minor forward naval base starting 1 March, though if the contest drags out horrifically or the destruction is near-complete we might have to wait until 1 April to use it for such purposes.

7.) During March, we would enter a slower and sustained phase known as Campaign Phase in Takomenian military parlance. Kaleusthes Base would be expanded under the oversight of my dear friend Larien (and Marietta would thus be commanded by another capable base marshal). Meanwhile, the roughly 1m troops and maybe 10k remaining panzers would begin a new series of encirclements, endeavoring to constantly outpace the enemy and preclude them from reconstituting a cohesive line. We would, if we were fortunate enough, place Kalobol under siege from at least land. 

8.) Towards the end of the month into April, the regular armies (which are mostly comprised of unmounted infantry and their support) would take up positions and entrench along the Western Front border while our militaries start a desperately needed regeneration phase. Meanwhile, if we could manage it, riverine marines would silently forge the Kotorei River and establish bridgeheads through which regular units could advance and commence encirclement, repeating our cross-river escapades along the vast Nansing River just over two years previous. The Bengarians have constructed an extremely powerful defensive line along the opposite bank of the river, and will most assuredly not be anemic in their response. 

We were highly confident we knew the general strategy of the enemy given what we had observed from the militaries in general, and the style and doctrine of Supreme Strategist Taneru. Her preference is to wait until we go on the offensive fully rather than attack first, and then launch a massive counteroffensive against us at our weakest points and during the worst times. Such a preference is encouraged by their disparity in mobility and one-on-one quality, and by their proficiency in static defense. They would not be so concerned with holding territory as they would be with cutting off our spearheads, thwarting our landings, and inflicting casualties. If they thwarted us and caused enough destruction to our military, the counteroffensive would be converted into a general offensive and proceed to attempt to overrun our badly attenuated defenses. She has succeeded at this before and has a talent for predicting when and where we are most vulnerable. This was demonstrated most dramatically in response to our offensives during the summer of 2014, and during our offensive operations on the Central Front early in 2015. If she and her forces are extremely fortunate or we make substantial errors, we could be the ones reeling from catastrophic losses rather than them quite conceivably. 


This campaign would begin almost exactly a year after we conducted our First Western Campaign. Our offensive and their defensive/counteroffensive campaign would be waged by over 50% more heavy weapons and over 30% more personnel than the first ones were a year previous, the result of prolonged wartime mobilization and increasing proficiency at this regrettable craft. The ratios of assets are more favorable to us this time since Likuria has sent many forces to assist. The first time, while a remarkable success for us, was depressingly unimpactful since we took neither land nor prisoners in great numbers, and paid huge amounts of ordnance and other supplies for what little we did achieve after such intense and prolonged bombardment. I and other strategists knew this would be a critical epoch in our planet's military history. The likely results of this campaign would be either the destruction of the opposing alliance, a prolonged malaise and regeneration after nothing seems to come of the extremely great sacrifices, or a negotiated peace. Few people are in favor of the latter for reasons that vary depending on the nation, but Takomenians are generally bright and not doomed to mediocrity and stagnation, and many will find this option attractive when contrasted with the alternative if it seems neither side can accomplish much on the battlefield despite such huge expenditures. 

Speaking of peace, some of our politicians and officers were furious with me when I publicly told reporters I might support attempting to end the war by treaty and not outright domination if we fail in our tasks this month. They said that I was undermining our own morale by speaking of such dire outcomes and raising the possibility of negotiation with the enemy. My response to them was highly predictable: I publicly castigated them for their willingness to conceal things our people should know and repeated very loudly my assertions I might advocate for a treaty if this is a debacle. Of course, I also repeated my sincere belief we were likely going to enjoy at least moderate success immediately, and probably would be more fortunate than that. I will not inappropriately sugarcoat something to make our people more optimistic than they ought to be, nor will I needlessly demotivate them with depressing commentary. I also, first and foremost, value the health of the peoples of this great but troubled planet. If restoring the spiritual and cultural health of the four nations most rapidly and effectively entails us agreeing to negotiate an end to this great struggle rather than destroying the governments which started it through total victory, and I need to have our military oppose our own government to achieve this, I will unhesitatingly do so. I perform the extremely crucial role of Supreme Strategist for Kantaria because I am highly proficient at this and see total war to its conclusion as the most satisfactory way of bringing peace to this nation and this planet. I will not pursue total victory for our country if it or the planet as a whole will be largely destroyed in the process. 

Of course, total victory IS the best path to attaining peace given current circumstances and factors, and to that end, our fleets assembled at Marietta on 19-20 February to begin the first phase of our plans. Larien would have his lutrine paws full with the various urgent needs our navy would have over the next week, as would that of many other base commanders. Bases up to 400 km from the national border on the Eastern Front were put on heightened alert to deal with the influx of repair orders and casualties, the scale of the carnage and the need for rapid repair would be so great. Of course, personnel were sent to the southern and western bases and those bases would be the primary and secondary return sites, but we doubted they would provide enough regeneration capacity alone. Of course, a base is useless if it lacks components with which to carry out repairs, so we have stockpiled them at a very elevated rate at the expense of warship and panzer construction. The evening of the 19th, I visited with the various marine divisions which were conducting final preparations before embarkation. Their objectives would be far more dangerous than that of the regular units, and I thus felt compelled to greet as many as I feasibly could before I sent them to what could possibly be their destruction. Marshal Perredine went to the aerial bases to perform the same function for the paratroopers, the very most elite of our military whose missions are still more dangerous and lethal (though hopefully at least as lethal to those they are assailing). 

Unable to sleep during the early morning of 20 February, I gave up trying and returned to my post. We were informed some of the Likurian forces would be late arriving, so our final naval deployments were delayed by several hours. As even Marietta cannot harbor the whole navy plus 200 allied ships, most of the vessels were camped in the waters outside the base awaiting further orders. At around noon, I and my closest staff deemed we should send the navy onto their planned objectives for the day. As our naval forces set sail at flank speed to the targets, I delivered a profound and rousing address to our military, telling them they would be making pivotal military history, reminding them that they are being sent into danger to hasten the return of peace for not only our nation but all of Takomen. I also exhorted them to bear no hatred towards the average opposing soldier and officer, as they are in such a terrible situation and want this misery and bloodshed to end as badly as we do. I am somewhat concerned that because of all the suffering that has transpired since we tried the first time, because their adversaries are so for good reason, they will forget our real enemies in the end are the senior government officials and will instead torment the enemy troops in a fit of perverted euphoria. I have done everything from plead with the troops to have some of them executed for atrocities to minimize the crimes committed by our forces, and these measures have had their intended effects heretofore. I just want our respectably low atrocity rates to remain so even while the enemy is being destroyed.

With our artillery barraging the enemy for days and 500 warships assembling outside Marietta, it was not difficult for the enemy to see we were about to attack in earnest. They could not be sure exactly where or when and with how many troops, but they knew we were starting the campaign. And, thus, they started their counteroffensive almost simultaneously. Our naval forces were for the latter half of the day subjected to withering fire from the air, sea, and land. We fully expected them to choose now to assault us with all they possessed, but there is only so much we can do to mitigate and evade even with such foreknowledge. Their aerial and naval forces took terrible losses over the next 36 hours, but they caused us terrible losses as a consequence. Many ships fell out of formation or had to flee to Marietta to evade destruction (and not all of them succeeded), and the navy was delayed in arriving at the targets due to having to cope with the onslaughts. The Likurian 3rd Fleet suffered further delays due to attacks they had to contend with, which further impeded our efforts to make the beaches suitable for the MAC divisions. Instead of the landings beginning at 12:00-14:00, they started only at 18:30, with 20% less fire support than planned. However, the amphibious invasions did take place and with the planned number of marines and panzers.

The punishing strikes from available enemy assets seemed to only intensify as the bulk of the naval forces returned to bases to resupply and repair. The progress of the marines slowed overnight and slowed almost to a crawl over the 21st. The vessels that remained in the area to defend them and patrol quickly accrued serious damage from an extremely determined opponent who was willing to risk more vessels and planes than before (though we did the same). Many vessels which were seriously damaged had to be only withdrawn to the rearmost section of the field rather than to base, and resupply often had to be done in the field. We simply lacked suitable base capacity close to the front, as Narenda is a coastal city rather than a dedicated maritime fortress and the latter facilities are routinely bombed. A warship needs 4-6 hours to go one way between shore bombardment positions and Marietta, and there had to be enough ships and collective firepower to both protect the marines and the fleets. Thus, a warship was out of action for at least 10 hours if it just had to resupply at Marietta, and of course longer if it needed repairs. The delayed reinforcements only exacerbated these problems. Because of all of these factors, attrition to both sides was severe and unceasing for two days, and the marines advanced only 50 km before having to entrench and await reinforcements.

On the 21st we did little more than regenerate at breakneck speed and reflect on the rather uninspiring beginnings. We had suffered so much damage assailing a location much closer to the enemy's main defenses than ours that we deemed it foolhardy to do anymore than maintain the beachhead we established and send as many vessels as we could to bases for emergency repairs. The Procyonidae took 50% armor damage during the sorties, and us having by default maximum priority meant even less capacity was free for the remaining ships. After the typical feigned mutual acrimony with the good marshal of Marietta, I held a council of war with the commanders of both nations. The general impression was this was not much worse than we had expected on the first day, and we were well situated to break the stalemate over 22-23 February. The enemy had done a magnificent job of breaking our ships and their components, but they suffered grievously to achieve that and may well run out of steam first. Our panzers were going to cause the enemy an extreme level of grief even if the naval operations failed, and the Cameron Base defenses had been so degraded over the preceding week that the marines would need far less support than we would be able to give. We agreed that these developments were not cause for defeatistic beliefs. We would regenerate over the day and keep our personnel's morale bolstered between then and the assaults on the archipelago and across most of the Western Front. We landed another marine division that day and fired off many of our long-range torpedoes to harass the enemy from Marietta, but otherwise we merely recuperated.

On the morning of the 22nd, we set out to discover our fate. Our dwindling aerial forces had taken up patrol routes overnight to take up the slack the recalling of most of the fleets had left, and most of them were recalled to base as our fleet arrived. The enemy was badly mauled over the last 48 hours and were now having to respond to huge armored formations colliding with forward positions and overrunning them, so that left them with fewer planes to send at us. As their mobile resistance over the sea slackened, our strength in the same area rose dramatically. After a brief shore bombardment by the ~300 ships in the area, the marines ferociously assaulted what we hoped would be their new primary base. The Pathforgers took intense fire by surviving fortifications and other various assets and this destroyed or incapacitated 25% of them in the opening hours. However, they saved many lives and panzers in the process, as we would have lost probably twice as many Commanders or several battalions of marine infantry if they had to be used instead. They gave back about as much as they took, and allowed lighter units to maneuver under only light bombardment. Some smaller islands fell with minimal effort, a medium one fell within two hours, and the command bunker of the second-largest island was captured before midnight. The remainder are still being fought over, as the garrison there is 80% the size of our invasion force and massively entrenched. It might not be until the start of the new month before the base is deemed secure and fit for heavy reconstruction. The progress they made, however, far exceeded what we thought was likely.

We are not sure what effect our decision to postpone the main invasion had, but we soon discovered the enemy was not sufficiently well equipped to deal with the onslaught either by the panzer units or the maritime ones. The enemy alliance inland had ample firepower to direct at our cavalry, and thus the western third of the continent near the front lines were ablaze with explosions and burning panzers. The 1st, 2nd, and 4th Kantarian Panzer Armies, and the 2nd Likurian Panzer Army, heroically threw themselves against a feverish and numerically superior foe. They took a painfully high number of losses in the first hours, but inflicted losses above the attrition threshold and seized ground at a moderate pace. They were stalled for a while on each of the primary routes they were sent on and thus had no spectacular successes for those first hours. However, the enemy lacked sufficient panzer reserves and supporting firepower to block our lead elements and our units were in a sufficient condition to hasten their movements. The mounted infantry disembarked and began rapidly entrenching at important areas. By the end of the evening on that day, we were in places 120 km behind the front lines and 410k troops were surrounded or were in the process of being surrounded. Appropriately, they generally remained in their static fortifications and awaited further orders, hoping either our units would be driven back or would be weakened enough to make breakout operations feasible.

There was one substantial negative development on this day. The Likurian fleet on one of their assigned sectors had come under overwhelming fire from Kalobol and serviceable aircraft and vessels as our marines were starting to land. The Likurians managed to hold their positions, but endured terrible punishment for their defiance. Their admiral and his superior Cometai pleaded with us to send reinforcements or they would have to withdraw. We could not have 100 allied ships be destroyed or leave the campaign, but we didn't have much of any manner of weapon to deploy to support them. We had to facilitate the landings at Cameron, provide bombardment to break the deadlock on the other landing site, and fend off attacks on us and the marines by air and sea. We sent a few vessels from here and there, rediverted an aerial squadron from this and that place, and fired off most of our remaining torpedoes. These were stopgap measures which would suffice for this day, but they needed more support the next day if they were to consent to assuming their planned roles tomorrow. Our naval forces were becoming dangerously stretched, often times our response to severe damage to a vessel being to send it to the rear of the battlefield to swap places with a slightly less damaged vessel. Practically the entire armada had some level of damage above negligible, and it needed to be in the field for at least another day before a majority could be recalled for repairs. 

Satisfied with our handiwork at Cameron and elsewhere, most of our naval forces returned to the nearest available bases in the evening, and I began constructing a plan to reinforce the Likurian sector the next day without destroying our own navy in the process. As glowing reports from Cameron continued to stream in, Perredine and I determined the Procyonidae despite its damage would have to be sent since most of our other capital vessels were either destroyed, in extreme need of repair, or already committed elsewhere. We were pushed below 45% armor integrity from that day's adventures, much of the damage being incurred after we closed to within secondary turret range to lay down more fire so our marines could proceed even more rapidly. With everything else going on and needed fixing, Larien (who was too exhausted to engage in idiotic exchanges with me, the demand for his services so great) couldn't do more than get us to 55% if we wanted 15 Tier 3s and 4s to be suitable for redeployment in the morning. We made various tweaks and adjustments and compromises, and eventually had 35 ships we could send to reinforce the Likurian sector without severely imperiling the remainder. After broadcasting our great successes to the world, I slept and prepared to meet the enemy with somewhat meager support the next day.

Various emergencies overnight caused our flagship to only reach 53% integrity and 1 capital ship was in insufficient shape to send. However, we and most of the planned reinforcements accompanied the majority of the remaining Likurian naval contributions. As we expected, a sizable number of enemy warships (which tended to be in worse condition than ours), warplanes from baseships and ground bases, and heavy artillery from Kalobol set upon our ally who was up until now an easier foe. Our legendary flagship is almost capable of taking on a standard fleet by itself, and what we asked of it was not far from that. We had only one Tier 4 and four Tier 3s, so our seriously damaged flagship was tasked with contending with not only the enemy flagship, but three Tier 4s and six Tier 3s. The remaining forces in the general area had other objectives or were being kept in the rear for anti-air and as an emergency reserve in case the lead vessels had to fall back. The opposing leviathan and 6 of the other enemy forces were close enough to us to open fire right away. We dealt with twice as many ships of those sizes at the Second Naval Battle of Marietta, so this force even in our degraded condition was not very concerning to even this delicate prancer. However, I did tell the officer responsible for damage control and response, "I am very confident this ship will withstand what we are about to subject it to. However, it won't hurt to act as if the reverse will happen..."

At 10:00, we and the enemy spotted and simultaneously fired on one another. Our flagship has the best components, its crew is extremely experienced, and I was on the bridge to direct both the ship and the fleet in general. Most of the mistakes I and others made during the aforementioned battle we did not repeat, which further reduced the effectiveness of the enemy force. For 90 minutes, almost alone we dueled with the enemy vanguard, each of our broadsides impacting the enemy with great effect. We landed 3 hits for every 10 shells we fired, and the enemy managed only 1 out of 10. They fired many more shells than we did, however, so we were actually struck more often. I quickly determined we were losing the contest and I ordered our primary cannons to be somewhat dangerously overheated to increase our rate of fire enough to prevail. The overheating paired with preexisting damage caused one turret to be knocked offline and another to malfunction slightly. The engagement was exhausting for me and the ship in general, with our armor in general falling to 35% and one section to a frightening 25%. However, we evaded all atomic weapons fire, landed three such strikes of our own, and compelled the enemy force to retreat before we started flooding them. As we had a section that was only a strategic-level nuclear missile away from total failure and we ordinarily wouldn't even have traveled to the front with 55% armor, I communicated to the Likurian admiral the Procyonidae was leaving immediately, who was very grateful for the risks I took. As we set sail back to Marietta, I reviewed our combat data and nearly completed a report to the Council. As we returned to the base I was overcome by drowsiness before I finished it, deemed the Council could wait a few hours for the report, and promptly laid down on my bed and slept without masturbating (I almost always need to do that once or twice to enable sleep).

I arose after a couple of hours, pawed off once at last, then made myself available for briefings. I was quickly greeted with very unpleasant news, making this day one of profound exhaustion and frustration for both me and the military in general. While we made highly gratifying gains on the Western Front, our forces on the Central Front were losing severely. My adversary, as I predicted, decided to try her luck on the neighboring front while that was still possible. We had not managed to take the remaining positions along about 2/3 of our side of the river because we had to reassign all we could spare to conduct the campaign west of there, and we were not planning to cross the river for over a month anyway. We had to compensate for our severe losses west by diverting even more panzers and aircraft from there. Meanwhile, the combined enemy strength along the river wasn't reduced, and actually had been reinforced since their efforts west continued to be met with failure. The Bengarians have a magnificent fortified line 1-25 km across from our own positions with which to fire on us or shelter units, our Raeltan Line was now too far away to either be easily reached or provide near-instant firepower, and we lacked sufficient strength from either adjacent front to send more than a few divisions. Thus, when they launched their extremely spirited/desperate offensive to retake their lost positions and push us back from the Kotorei River, we were woefully underequipped to contend with it.

I spoke to Central Combatant Command. They told me unambiguously that they needed immediate reinforcement or permission to conduct more extensive withdrawals, or we were probably going watch most of our 500k soldiers fall under siege and be largely destroyed. Our Eastern forces were under moderate pressure simultaneously, which could be resisted successfully only if what we had there was kept there. Complications on the Western Front and the extremely imperative nature of our campaign there meant any substantial diversion of forces would imperil our missions, and they couldn't be quickly sent elsewhere anyway. We had only 30k paratroopers which were deployable in our entire alliance, and even those elite units would be quickly destroyed if sent against such large opposition with minimal regular reinforcement. We had to make a very difficult decision: either we severely risk losing our positions across the Kleintrin Forest, we slow or stop our great drives in the West and destroy our morale in the process, or we allow ourselves to be chased from the Kotorei River and resign ourselves to not crossing until probably at least the end of summer. We could not succeed on all three fronts.

I needed little time to determine the Kotorei River was the least important region, and authorized them to withdraw as far as the Raeltan Line 150 km away if that was what it took to save our forces from destruction. A limited withdrawal was already in progress, so my orders only lengthened it. This was substantially within the Bengarian homeland and they knew succeeding greatly was quite possibly the only success they could claim during this period, so they assaulted us with extreme force and vigor. They achieved a major breakthrough in the middle of our very thin lines with a panzer army of their own and it seemed our forces might have to conduct desperate breakouts to reach safety. The 3rd and 4th Reserve Armies leapt to the counteroffense with great fervor despite being horribly underequipped to contend with panzers. A hodgepodge of panzer units arrived at the site and prevented those armies from being penetrated with laughable ease, but all they could do is delay the enemy panzers long enough for the remaining formations to catch up and maybe avoid being enveloped. Enemy panzers and mounted infantry succeeded in cutting off the 4th Reserve and 6th Field Armies. As we have a doctrine of versatility and mobility, and we deal with overwhelming numbers at times, our forces are more extensively prepared to contend with being encircled and having their rear suddenly become the front. They broke through the encirclement and continued retreating. Of course, we're short on artillery here as well, so our troops everywhere have also been subjected to explosive hailstorms. We probably will lose about 100k soldiers and might be able to stabilize 75 km from the river. Our aspirations of collapsing their Central Front within a month of doing so on the West, and causing catastrophic damage to enemy morale as winter comes to an end, obviously will not materialize.

This was substantially reminiscent of the tragedies we suffered just over a year prior to this. One of the lessons we learned from this is the soldiers and officers who have just been thrashed absolutely must not feel we have forgotten them. A sizable proportion of these forces were participants in our series of defeats there, and they are now reliving the theme of sudden defeat and retreat. I asked whether it was safe for me to visit the Raeltan Line where some of our units have already fled to and wounded taken for treatment. I was told parts of it are being bombed, but 90% of the enemy bombardment is directed at the front line units. If I stayed underground and had personnel see me there I would be safe. As I cannot bear to see people in a mangled state whether they are enemy or friend, I had Perredine tour hospitals, while I met with and reassured our ambulatory troops and officers. They were generally satisfied with our response, limited though it was due to the campaign (which was the cause of us neglecting them last year). 

As if to add more to our problems, I was informed the Procyonidae was the only capital ship available to escort a resupply convoy for the southern marine forces, and they absolutely needed its support or we seriously risked losing transports and freighters, and this convoy was needed by our marines. The section that was knocked to 25% was restored to 35%, but the rest of the sections were also only repaired to 35%. I reluctantly consented to this second sortie, but I needed to remain here and I wasn't ready to play grand admiral again anyway, so I left our 3rd in command to command the fleet. The weather was atrocious, near-hurricane winds tormenting the task force the entire way there. However, they successfully delivered the troops and supplies without much opposition, then returned post haste.

We lost badly on the Central Front after encouraging progress over the preceding weeks, and this somewhat counterweighs our successes. However, those successes are and will be extremely weighty. The southern marine contingent has helped encircle about 100k troops, though another 100k withdrew because of the hardness of their positions and the marines' delays. 10k panzers remain in service inland and haven't been appreciably more obstructed over the last 24 hours, now causing the envelopment or neutralization of 520k forces since the 22nd. The progress at Cameron/Kaleusthes has dramatically slowed now that all the less heavily defended ground has fallen, but our awe-inspiring marines continue to energetically assail the underground and above-ground fortifications. While our fleet has lost 40% of its combat strength (sunk, degraded defensive and offensive ability) in a few days, the enemy naval presence is now lower in number than ours. Similarly, our aerial forces have been weakened by 33%, but the enemy probably is on par with us or worse. There is nothing even Taneru seems to be capable of doing to cause any more than a moderate reduction in our speed. Unless the enemy experiences a miracle, they will lose at least 500k troops by the end of the month and pretty much the entire Kalobol Line, and that alone is an utterly dispiriting fiasco. 

Thus, on the late evening of yesterday, I addressed our people in general, who already had been receiving encouraging news from media sources accompanying our forces. I confessed to them that we lost at the Kotorei River and this is a severe loss that is still in progress. However, I reminded them we would have been extremely grateful if we claimed that prize next month since it would have required so much good fortune to have captured, and I reminded them our primary objectives in the west had or would soon fall to us. I concluded the speech by emphasizing that seemingly paradoxically, this extremely large surge in violence and destruction would be instrumental in reestablishing peace to our beloved world more rapidly. We are Takomenians, not Terrans. We are proficient in warfare if we absolutely must be, but we are most proficient in progress and advancement, things which we cannot accomplish much of when we are trying to destroy each other on the front lines. Soon, maybe within 12-18 months, if the expected pace holds, our alliance will force the other into oblivion, and we can return to a state of peace. I exhorted the people to remember this ultimate objective: not to merely win, but to enable ALL of Takomen to return to societal and technological progress at a maximal pace. After the speech, the people erupted into a state of relieved jubilation, and Parliament declared today a national holiday for all. 

We expect to have Fortress Kaleusthes secured and suitable for Larien to assume command and work his magic by 1 March. Four years before then will be the day our nation began discarding its Bengarian shackles by force. While I am ambivalent on the matter of martial prowess and capability, even I must concede it will be very impressive that in four years we morphed from an annexed country to a fully independent nation with the most powerful military on the planet. Even considering that this nation has certain advantages in a war of this nature, I am gratefully astonished we overcame so much and attained the strength we have. I actually hoped the war would just be over in four years at the time I volunteered for what was then the revolutionary militia, and we would be a sovereign nation again. If I had been asked if I thought we could take on the entire Bengarian military and 40% of Wesitaria's with the support our ally was able to give, I would have likely deemed it near-impossible. To take on less than three years later almost as many forces (by percentages) with virtually no assistance from Likuria besides tying down the Wesitarians overseas? I would have found it absurd. Yet, we have done both, despite adversity caused by the enemy, the nature of war, and ourselves. If our fortune holds, by the following 1 March, perhaps we will no longer require the martial talent and strength we have been forced to acquire heretofore.