Red Star Courier/Page 2

The Red Star Courier Price: One doughnut "All the muse has seen fit to print" June 2006 Printed in Hamadan News Successful Takeover in Tokat With the rising of the sun this morning came the successful completion of Yssaria's attempt to take over Tokat. This success came after an earlier attempt had failed to establish secure control of the province. During the last three or so months Yssaria has retaken Supra and Aureus, temporarily took over Aestus, and attacked the Caligan capital of Domus. The groundwork for the takeover was laid out in the most recent offensive on the part of Yssaria, which began after a series of defensive actions due to a declaration of war from Ubent and a reconnaissance in force by one of Perdan’s brigades. After Ubent and Perdan became more occupied by the efforts of Itorunt and Ibladesh, Yssaria struck out again, with a plan to take over two regions at once, Sordidus and Tokat. The two armies where in position to assist each other, and thus when Caligus responded by moving out to Sordidus, the army there withdrew to Tokat, abandoning the takeover so as not to be defeated in detail. At the same time, the local peasants stopped the first takeover of Tokat, and the Yssarian army gathered to make a second attempt to secure the province for its name. The Caligan troops inevitably advanced upon Tokat thereafter, and there ensued two battles to determine whether the takeover attempt would continue. The two battles saw Caligus with more troop leaders than the Yssarians, and a higher number of solders in the first battle, with the tally being closer to equal at the second. The Yssarian troops, however, were judged more deadly in battle by some neutral observers, wither by virtue of arms, armor, training, or some combination of the three is not known. This superior quality seems to have made the difference, as the Yssarians won both bloody engagements, and caused more casualties to their attackers than they received in turn. The list of wounded nobles, knights, and troop leaders on both sides was long, with over a dozen of noble blood being sent to the healers. As the sun set and the armies grappled yet again, a hero of Caligus by the name of Grontar perished in the battle, having been wounded as he fought side by side with his troops during the morning engagement, then spending his life on the field, apparently heedless of his wounds or his life. The two battles having decimated the fighting strength of Caligus, they withdrew, and the second takeover attempt by Yssaria proceeded undisturbed, this time, successful. Features Editorials We are winning: Here's why The seemingly endless war on the East Island is now moving into a conclusive phase due to a number of trends that have been clear over the last three or so months, and these trends, if they continue uninterrupted, spell defeat for Perdan and her allies. Allow me a moment to summarize the current situation and the trends I have mentioned. The current diplomatic situation can be summarized as consisting of three alliances: 1) Sirion, Old Rancagua, and Fontan in the north. (let us call them the Northern Alliance) 2) Yssaria, Itorunt, and Ibladesh in the south. (let us call them the Southern Alliance) 3) Perdan, Ubent, and Caligus in the center. (let us call them the Central Alliance) And then there are the neutral realms: Light of Fontan, and Kalmar Islands. Now, the northern alliance and the southern alliance are both at war with the central alliance. Various members of each of these two alliances (that is, the Northern and Southern) also have alliances with members of the "other" alliance. Sirion, Fontan, Itorunt, and Ibladesh are among these. Looking at this, a quick study will notice that, in the first place, the central alliance is outnumbered. But this only begins to describe the problems they face. Allow yourself a moment to look at a map of East Island. There are three main active fronts to this war: Ibladesh and Itorunt fighting Perdan and Ubent to the north, Yssaria fighting Caligus, and the Northern Alliance versus Oligarch. With the recent defeat of Oligarch, Sirion and her allies have moved into the next phase of the campaign, the first blow of which seems to have been the recent invasion of Bescanon. Ibladesh and Itorunt, over the last three months, have, as far as I can determine, managed a tie on their front. Yssaria has, by and large, been on the offensive and winning on its front against Caligus, we retook Supra, took Aureus and Tokat, temporarily took over Aestus, and attacked the Caligan capital of Domus. During this period, the only successful Caligan effort has been taking back Aestus. This brings us to the third front, which has the promise of being critical to the outcome of the war. Having defeated Oligarch, Sirion and her allies have marched in force into Bescanon. To call their force "large" would, perhaps, be an understatement. And this development, quite simply, gives Perdan more commitments than it can meet realistically. Her allies, without her help, are, or would be, overwhelmed. Look at that map of East Island map again. The threats to Perdan, or her allies, require her troops to be in three, or perhaps four seprate theaters: Dayr to Al Aquabah; in and around Moyale to defend Ubent; around Domus to defend Caligus; and the aforementioned invasion along its northeastern border at Bescanon. Note that the two direct threats against Perdan lie along exactly opposite ends of its realm, in the southwest, and the northeast. This situation gives Perdan all sorts of choices, none of them very good. It can either try to meet the challenges along all its fronts and, in all likelihood, be outnumbered on at least one of them, if note more, or it can be strong in one or two places, without being able to meet its other commitments. This is not to diminish the bravery or commitment of Perdan or her allies, this argument is simply based on the results of the last few months of fighting, along with the simple strategic reality that they cannot be everywhere at once, cannot be strong everywhere, all the time. Perdan and her allies, outnumbered and surrounded on every side, cannot afford many mistakes. On the other hand, if one of the members of the alliance facing them stumbles, Perdan will still face multiple challenges and commitments. It faces multiple fronts, the realms fighting them face one, or perhaps two, fronts at most. Add the numerical disparity, and the situation cannot long be maintained to Perdan's favor. Barring remarkable change, it may delay the result, but it cannot prevent it. Back to the front page..