Ashes & Remains, Dead & Vanquished

Ashes of war have engulfed the abandoned houses of the Siedlce suburbs, playgrounds lay in rubble and houses in shreds. Remains of the dead and the vanquished, victors and defeated grow more inseparable from each other day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute… However, the steel corpses, or rather carcasses, of mechanical beasts that brought about this destruction are distinguishable from friend and foe, despite the long war being fought on this soil. Every street is littered by what once was paraded in Moscow and Berlin; the technological feats that were sent to war as the final solution to bring the finishing blow. Each day, more and more are joining the iron litter of the streets. Making the destruction of what once was a sanctuary from the savage wilderness unnoticeable. Shypov and the 300 pilots accompanying him are no excuse to this fate, one by one, the Chaika units of the 36th and 43rd battalions are being exterminated like rats. Despite the progress in the other sectors, the northern suburbs came with heavy resistance as they were the area that housed much of the storage for the Deutsch garrison. Also, the northern suburb was the closest to the railway, on which most reinforcements were transported right before its destruction by the Imperial artillery. A blood festival mixed with scrapes of steel and leaks of oil, well accompanied by the screams of agony. Hell was to ensue for much longer in the Northern suburbs. The operation was entering its seventh hour. Shypov's strike package – responsible for pacifying the northern suburbs of Sieldce – was now hanging off a cliff, using all of the minor force they had left to hold back a Deutsch flanking counteroffensive, catching the other groups off guard and eliminating the poorly guarded Komsomols.

"Lieutenant-Colonel, group C reporting major losses. We are down to 10 units."

"Lieutenant-Colonel, group H reporting, we've been wiped out, down to 3 units."

"Lieutenant-Colonel, groups B and F are not responding, around 30 enemy units advancing on the 6th and 9th avenues."

The frontline was breaking right in front of Shypov's eyes. Countless orders left without response and many more replies being cut out, signifying the destruction of the radio box at the very least. Around 75 units were left in the strike package and 300 soldiers were present out of the initial 900. All that the strike package could do is pray for breakthroughs in the other sectors, and their prayers were heard. The 9th hour of the offensive was setting in, the eastern front has taken out most enemy defenses set up and infantry was pouring in. However, the success of the other groups was to be the ringing bell for the reaper to come and take Shypov and his strike package. As more of the city fell to the hands of the Empire that ploughed its seeds before the war, more reports were sent to Warsaw; letting command know of the critical situation, leading to more and more Deutsch troops and Jaegers being marched into Siedlce through the northern suburbs of its western gates; along the broken railways, as far as the transport trains could take them.

"This is lieutenant-colonel Stoichenko, requesting response from the command of the northern strike package."

Relief struck the what seemed to be an abandoned group of men, isolated and bound to extinction. Reinforcements were now coming in, although only through the radio…

"This is Shypov, Stoichenko, you came just in time."

"Glad to hear you alive, commander. What's the situation."

"Advance has been halted and most of the gains diminished. Heavy casualties and masses of enemies pouring in. Requesting immediate support."

"Affirmative, our strike package will come in from the 17th avenue, please inform your troops to avoid friendly fire. I've got 35 units with 13 platoons of infantry inbound."

"…"

"Commander Shypov? Please respond."

"…God bless you, Stoichenko."

Combat has entered its 10th hour, the sun was beginning to set and the dim lights of the steel plates and the fires of destruction were to be the only sources of light. None of the sides would choose to sleep out this night; a mutual, non-verbal agreement signed by blood was reached – both sides would fight on into the night. Kiril's relief force has dramatically reduced the weight off of Shypov's shoulders. The frontline has been stabilized and the advance was continued. More men would fall under enemy fire, but for every loss the empire faced, the federation's forces would accompany the perished souls on their way from earth to whatever afterlife existed. The bodies of both sides would fertilize the ground of the battlefield. 3 Jaegers were encountered along with the superior stormtrooper infantry on Kiril's designated advance path. Both groups unraveled their rage onto each other, as the will to live of both sides was too strong to give up without a heroic stand. Heroes which would never be remembered, heroes who would share one monument with the thousands of others. Heroes, whose fates were undecided, whether they would truly be heroes, or antagonized to become villains. After a breathtaking firefight which saw countless sparks and skilled maneuvers, Kiril's group came out victorious, albeit losing 3 steel plates and 30 infantry. With each street, less of his troops remained alive and fewer steel plates were left operational. At this rate, the long but promising advance would be unsustainable after a few more streets. Kiril was left with 7 steel plates and 25 more soldiers.

Come night time, the grasshoppers would try their very best to prove that their orchestra was capable of outshining the ensuing fierce firefight. The moon along with its little stars would try to shine brighter than the city engulfed in flames. Nature would give birth to man, but the man would eventually give birth to technology – rage and ferocity steamed from its engine, as it would bring all natures attempts to rule supreme in dire straits, where man would outperform nature, and eventually kill the man itself.

Among the remaining groups of Komsomols, only the northern sector group awaited their departure into the ruins of what once was a city. Pyotr and his 200 steel plates remained on vigilant duty throughout the night. Firefights with small contingents of Deutsch troops who moved through the woods rather than the safe passage of the railway were scouted and ambushed; an impressive feat for Pyotr and his group as they themselves sustained no casualties. The more or less ambient atmosphere which lacked bloodshed would soon be broken. Finally, the radio has been brought back to life by Shypov's voice. The order has been given, the northern group of Komosomols along with Pyotr's squadron was to advance into the city. Within a minute of the order being transmitted into every Komsomol and Chaika, the little camp set up by the pilots was turned into a ghost town; roads and trees wired up with booby traps to halt enemy reinforcements and carcasses of destroyed Chaika units revitalized in appearance to act as a scarecrow to the nightly fields, leading straight into the hottest pit of hell.

The fire in Siedlce was now noticeable all the way from Warsaw. Small corvettes of the Deutsch air fleet that were stationed nearby have been sent out to scout and strafe the streets to aid the Federation's garrison. These majestic metal monstrosities – they're colossal stand humbles every steel plate yet is laughed upon by the superior dreadnoughts. The rotors on the back slowly came to life as the hangars were emptied and the flying beasts along with their 100-200 men crew set off for the skies off Siedlce – a place where air superiority would surely be theirs, yet their gruesome fates, that were still unknown to them, were soon to come knocking on their door, with the reaper reaching out his hand.

"This is lieutenant-colonel Shypov, our group is down to 4 steel plates. We've lost all our infantry, requesting supports from nearby groups."

"Group G is down to 3 steel plates and 5 soldiers, requesting permission to halt advance."

"Group D facing heavy resistance on the 25th street. Enemy has multiple cannons set up."

Again, the advancement has died down into a slugfest. All troops entrenched themselves on the streets and prioritized holding ground rather than advancement. This was true for both sides. Well, it was true for both sides. But with the loud roar of the 150mm cannon from the incoming Komsomols and Pyotr's 200 steel plates, the tides of the battle were once again in the Empire's favor. The Deutsch supremacy in mobility and numbers has been lost by the lack of arriving forces and suffocation of the streets. The battle of Siedlce was far from over, and it was a lot further from reaching the chaos it could. The incoming Deutsch corvettes and the arrival of more Chaika units to the blood fest only elongated the ticking timer for the battle to end. This was to be no quick offensive as promised by Kolonov – this would be a slow bloody drag race between the ill-reinforced 36th and 43rd battalions and the battered garrison of Siedlce with the constant arrival of fresh reinforcements. Until the northern suburbs were taken, casualties would only continue to rise up for the Empire. Siedlce's suburbs had to be taken, no matter the cost. If the battle here was lost, the countless lives given up and all the gains across the Bug River would perish in an instance, along with Kiril, Pyotr, Shypov and all the men under their command that look up to them.