Hulstria and Gao-Soto

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The Rising Sun Shimbun is pleased to report that His Majesty, Heavenly Sovereign, Emperor Mugendjikara has declared war on Sekoku, a declaration that was officially acknowledged by Acting Prime Minister and Defense Minister Kidehi Chojo today. Mere hours before, tanks of the Imperial Army charged across our southern border with the small and weak nation, executing daring maneuvers and firing while moving (in modern times, not common outside of video games). H-13X semi-stealth and new H-20 stealth multirole fighters conducted airstrikes in various locations, including the capital of Ishinawa, and the Imperial Navy proceeded to blockade Sekowan ports and intercept cargo ships determined to be of Sekowan origin. The military faced laughable resistance, as for decades now Sekoku has completely demilitiarized and possesses a defense force of a few thousand men. Meanwhile, our military is made up of approximately two million, thanks to long-standing conscription - though one would not be able to determine that from seeing the quality of training and technology it possesses. A mere eighth is engaged on the Sekowan front - amounting to around 250,000 men - and while it is not fair to compare this elite and professional fighting force to a cute National Guard, this is already enough to fight any major engagements. The invasion occurred in advance to ensure total surprise of what meager forces Sekoku has to offer.

A dispute over border raids by the Sekowan military conducted against Hulstria and Gao-Soto, decades before even the existence of the Empire, resulted in significant backlash from our government. Our provocation successfully made the Sekowan government admit its implicity in the attacks and even induced its demilitarization. While this also resulted in the cowardly nation seeking and receiving what essentially amounts to puppet status under Yingdala - making it no more than a puppet of the so-called 'Son of Heaven' - the Yingdalan government, in recognizing our strength, has decided to betray Sekoku and leave it to fall to our forces. In a matter of months, we will be able to fully subsume this rightful Imperial territory, populated by Kunihito who have been brainwashed into practicing a backwards culture and religion.

Chojo, who shot up the ranks of the Imperial Civil Army of the Crownlands and attained the rank of General at the mere age of 33 (retaining his rank into his term as Defense Minister) is leading from the frontlines from a field headquarters, the location of which is currently classified.

[Edmund]

Government decides it was wrong

Could you have sworn that the Shimbun article on the spontaneous explosion of Yoshihisa-kun's head told a very different story earlier? Don't worry, you're not going insane - more than anyone else is in this dokeshiweruto.

An earlier version that assigned us the sole blame and praised - a matter of perspective - our movement in the strongest terms possible was quickly replaced with the current edition after it was determined by the government that the 'Diet Committee on Assassinations' had forgotten to assign sufficient blame to the hidebound so-called 'Volksfront', let alone push for war with Dranland. This is a serious disappointment to us, as we were enjoying having our day in the sun and sole responsibility recognised. For the avoidance of any doubt: we acted alone, and we're not sure how the Volksfront is supposed to have organised anything in Miyako of all places. Kidehi-chan can explain that one away.

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The Rowiet Union has declared war on the Empire of Gao-Soto, despite us not doing so first, with the stated intention of "stopping the fascist beast and its allies", as stated by President Yi Su-Bin to the Supreme Rowi last night. He stated that the Empire initiated war against Sekoku "illegally, without warrant or dignity" and that "it did so in the name of supposed "racial liberation" and "national unification", both of which were clearly mere attempts to mask the belligerent and hostile nature of the entire invasion, which serves a select few war criminals and bourgeois industrialists in Idōwa while threatening an entire people, nay, an entire continent's survival." In a quiet, private proceeding, Acting Prime Minister and Defense Minister Kidehi Chojo responded with his own declaration of war.

These accusations are false. While technically illegal, the invasion of Sekoku being held in advance of our declaration of war on that nation was intended merely to catch them by surprise in the event that the enemy to our south, which is sponsored as a puppet by the island nation of Yingdala, had any military tricks up its sleeves. Fortunately, this proved to be false (its minuscule defense militia, an aging substitute to a military proper, remains as weak as ever) but it was perfectly dignified to check. Furthermore, we do not intend to threaten Dovani's survival, but to bring the Emperor's and Amatubime's eminent will and peace to the land, by force if necessary.

Foreign Affair Minister Fukutsuchi Taroemon made a statement today reminding the populace and the world that the Rowiets declared war first, and we are not to be considered the aggressors. In fact, the Union has no diplomatic ties with Sekoku to speak of; if anything, the Rowiets, situated to the north of the nation with neutral Kazulia between them and us, are more in the wrong for attempting to exploit the nation's focus on the south to launch one more assault against the citizens of this nation, after sending hordes of spies and murdering our Prime Minister. Fukutsuchi, however, reassured Imperial citizens that this would prove to be the last assault, as the Rowiets' laughably outdated arms will make the communist nation's underpaid, underfed, and unprofessional soldiers easy pickings.

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Defense Minister and Acting Prime Minister Gen. Kidehi Chojo has been inaugurated and appointed Prime Minister of the Empire of Gao-Soto. Sworn in alongside him was Justice Minister Ina Tomotada and Tanigawa Kazuki into the the leadership of various ministries, accompanied by the ministers they replaced. The Imperial Cabinet is now essentially a triumvirate made up of Chojo, Ina, and Tanigawa, who respectively are now the Prime Minister, the Coordinating Minister for Functioning, and the Coordinating Minister for Will. Below is a handy diagram to overview these new arrangements:

• The Prime Minister now takes on the old responsibilities of:
  
  • the Minister of Defense,
  • the Minister of Health and Social Services, and
  • the Minister of Science and Technology.
• The Coordinating Minister for Functioning now takes on the old responsibilities of:
  
  • the Minister of Finance,
  • the Minister of Justice,
  • the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, and
  • the Minister of Food and Agriculture.
• The Coordinating Minister for Will now takes on the old responsibilities of:
  
  • the Minister of Foreign Affairs,
  • the Minister of Internal Affairs,
  • the Minister of Education and Culture,
  • the Minister of the Environment and Tourism, and
  • the Minister of Trade and Industry.

The normally celebratory mood surrounding the inauguration was ecstatic, as Imperial forces are already cutting through massive swathes of Sekoku in what is being called the 'Imperial War' like a lawnmower through grass. All three members of the triumvirate made inauguration speeches in front of the Diet, focusing on the war. Chojo urged the people to avoid putting their needs above the Empire's, explaining that he had even requisitioned his official photographers' digital cameras for the war effort, replacing them with rudimentary black-and-white models. Tanigawa made another fiery 'Tiger's Speech' glorifying the Kunihito race and forecasting a major victory, while Ina made quiet remarks promising to do his duty and help along the war effort.

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Hiki Taketaka, 17, was hanging around nearby the Ministry of Defense building in Idōwa with his friends when he noticed a shady man in an overcoat standing near one of the service entrances and looking around. His friends egged him on to prank-call the police, which he did. Hiki informed the Idōwa Metropolitan Police that there was a "very sussy" man hanging around the Ministry and that "[he thought] he had vented".

When the police did come to respond to the call, it turned out that the man was indeed a spy, working for the Rowiet Union, with which the Empire has been at war since December. Hiki's very ironic prank call unironically helped stop a break-in before it even happened, quite possibly saving the nation.

Such is the popularity of Amidst Us, an online party game for play on mobile and desktop devices, where up to ten players playing 'Crewmates' on maps such as 'The Sqold', 'Valus', 'VER HQ', and 'The Blimp' must uncover which one to three among them is an 'Impostor' or Impostors. Crewmates can win by each fulfilling all their designated 'tasks' and by ejecting suspected Impostors during meetings, which can be called at designated locations or upon finding the body of a dead Crewmate. Impostors can win by murdering innocent Crewmates either directly or by ejecting them during meetings, while also sabotaging the Crewmates' ability to fulfill tasks and moving around the map using vents, called 'venting'. The most popular word used in meetings is almost always 'sus', shorthand for 'suspicious', in the sense that 'suspicious' means 'shady'. For example, 'Red sus' means 'The Red crewmate is suspicious.'

The amount of low-quality Internet content related to Amidst Us exploded along with the game's playership, and the amount of ironic, mocking imitations grew at the same pace, in turn feeding even more unironic playership. 'Amidus', a deliberate spelling of 'Amidst Us', has entered meme lexicon meeting the same prevalence of 'sus'. Cries of Amidus and sus have been increasingly common in school halls and even classrooms, and Imperial youth are consuming and turning out endless amounts of Amidus memes - just as in the UCCR, a strange parallel in this time of war. Parents have, like in Dankuk, called for the game's ban, but were in that respect quietly silenced by the most unlikely of voices.

Prime Minister Gen. Kidehi Chojo invited Hiki to the Prime Ministerial residence to receive the Imperial Crane Award for catching the Rowiet spy and thus giving the authorities a massive lead in catching a spy ring thought to be hidden in Idōwa. In a subsequent statement, Chojo reminded the nation to be wary of any spy-like behavior, emphasizing the ever-greater threat Rowiet espionage poses, and closed in Luthorian:

And remember to always contact the authorities if you think someone is sus.

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The Empire's military started moving into the largely Kunihito south of Azumatochi (東土地, lit. East Land) today as part of Operation ZI. Known locally as 'Ostland', the nation was a territory of Hulstria and Gao-Soto for centuries - making up the bulk of the Second Empire of Gao-Soto, which existed in union with Hulstria - until declaring independence. General complacency on the part of the old Hulstrian government regarding the rogue state has been replaced by fierce determination on the part of the Teikoku Sensen to reclaim this lost land and bring it back into the Imperial fold.

A large force of approximately 300,000 men was committed to the movement, employing advanced military technology that has nonetheless become the norm in the Imperial Armed Forces. They were joined by a force of 50,000 members of the Unitary People's Force (一元的 人民 力, Ichigen-Teki Jinmin-Ryoku), the Sensen's paramilitary, which formed much of the vanguard of the overall force. H-13X and H-20 semi-stealth and stealth multirole fighters established air superiority and provided close air support effectively. While somewhat substantial resistance was met from the Eastern 'military' - particularly thanks to Azumatochi's fascinating new Type 10 main battle tanks - ultimately, they were overwhelmed.

Eastern forces in the region, mostly made up of two armored brigades, posed a challenge to infantry, but were unable to counter the Empire's own Type 30 MBTs, its stealthy H-20 fighters, and Imperial light- and mid-caliber howitzers. Moreover, their core force, which barely amounted to a division, was dwarfed by the strength of the multiple divisions participating in Operation ZI. Aerial forces protecting the region were not much of a challenge either, with H-13Xs providing heavy air-to-air firepower and H-20s outpacing and outranging Azumatochi's Unionfighters at every turn.

Prime Minister FM Kidehi Chojo, who has currently stationed himself at the forward headquarters of Imperial forces invading Sekoku to the south, reminded Imperial forces in Azumatochi through a communiqué today to avoid the total destruction of Eastern equipment, particularly Type 10 MBTs, as the clever - while futilely used - technology employed in them may prove useful for Imperial purposes. It is his first communiqué as a Field Marshal, having promoted himself to that rank to cement operational command over Imperial forces at large.

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When the government offered a lucrative contract at the start of September to make cruise missile launchers, aerospace manufacturer Nakai Systems - which is nearing the end of a Hulstrian-era contract to build H-13X multirole fighters but is currently churning out H-20 stealth-fighters - seemed like it would be unable to outperform the sea of candidates vying for it. Its biggest rival in that respect was Yamada Arms, which supplies the Imperial Army with manifold, modular small arms and light weapons ranging from pistols to automatic rifles to general-purpose machine guns as well as tanks and artillery. While the requirements of the contract are vague (necessitating nothing more than wide reach; modularity; being surface-based; and the ability to launch multiple missiles in a quick, successive manner) Nakai was very much expected to be the underdog, which it is.

But if so, there occurred a remarkable upset. The X-MSHS (Mojurā Suichoku Hassha Sōchi, モジュラー垂直発射装置, or Modular Vertical Launcher) was Nakai Systems' submission. An innovative design, capable of both land-based silo-style installation and affixing to warships and submarines as a Vertical Launch System, it is rather low in capacity, but makes up for this with sheer ingenuity. Missiles individually cold-launch up cylindrical cells without canisters, defying VLS tradition, which has them launch out of an array of square cells, usually with canisters. Instead of demanding insertion of missiles down the top or bottom of the cell each launch, which is time-consuming, the X-MSHS boasts eight cells arranged in a circle, which rotates each launch so that every missile fires from the same absolute position - rather like a rotary cannon. It can unleash a full salvo in this way in under thirty seconds, and thanks to a precise targeting system, it should neutralize enough threatening targets to afford the crew enough time to reload all cells. To top it off, the whole thing is small enough for multiple of them to be used on land as a 'large strike array' and on sea as a 'super VLS', drastically increasing the chances of mission success overall. Defense analysts, while worried about the literal and material cost of purchasing and maintaining production models, are calling it the perfect weapon.

Nakai placed the X-MSHS in digital combat simulations multiple times against land and sea targets such as groups of tanks, buildings, and warships. In most of the instances where the targets had CIWS capabilities, some of the missiles were shot down before reaching them. However, in all of those instances, the sheer number of missiles involved overwhelmed the targets' capabilities. In almost all of the simulations overall, the mission succeeded.

The Imperial Armed Forces has both proved particularly ecstatic about the implications of the X-MSHS, brushing aside almost all other submissions. Would-be rivals to Nakai's system range from the standard to the downright nonsensical, and include a stationary missile launcher that loads like a gun with a magazine, a MANPATS-sized launcher, a massive battery, and Yamada Arms' Adacros cluster missile launcher - which deploys a missile that in turn deploys a large number of smaller missiles, each of configurable type. The Army is especially interested in the idea of making the MSHS truck-portable.

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It began with a single airborne battalion, accompanied by engineers, landing precisely on the section of the Trans-Dovanian Railway located in North Dovani and seizing a three-kilometer stretch of track. They had flown for hours from an airbase in the northeast of Gao-Soto, straight into Azumatochi, and over the perpetually war-wracked winterscape of one of the northernmost nations on the continent. They did not clear out resistance, as there was no resistance to clear out, so they set up camp.

Then came more paratroopers and more engineers, taking more track and setting up more camps. Eventually, the regular troops of the Imperial Army started coming in, carried aboard swarms of transport helicopters. Imperial Air Force fighters cut a path through anything in terms of anti-air defenses the rogue state of 'Ostland' had to bring to bear against the vulnerable soldiers. An elaborate trench system started weaving its way parallel to the railroad.

This all started three days ago. Now, a massive portion of the Trans-Dovanian Railway has been seized by the Empire, leaving the UCCR ripe for invasion after an almost yearlong lull in combat with the communist dictatorship since it declared war on the Empire last December, immediately after the latter's declaration of war on Sekoku to our south. An international railroad that starts in the southeast reaches of the Rowiet Union, bisects Kazulia, and runs through the desolate North Dovanian forest all the way to its far east, the TDR belongs to no single state. While technically the area parallel to it in North Dovani is that state's territory, the army is taking those areas unopposed thanks to the chaos of the nation. It is in this space that Imperial soldiers live, eat, sleep, and patrol, then disassemble camp, move for a few hours each day through that same space by way of the truck, armored vehicle, and helicopter, stop, set up camp again, and repeat. Some go east, towards the frontier of frontiers in the east of North Dovani. Most go west, towards the Rowiet Union.

This force, which has grown to a massive human tidal wave of 500,000, has already nearly completed the quiet conquest of the TDR in North Dovani and is about to push into Kazulia towards the UCCR. The winter of the region is bleak and desolate and there is no viable means of land access from the Empire to the railroad, making sustaining half a million men in such remote conditions a daunting task. But a combination of prudent rationing, hunting and fishing, befriending locals in nearby villages, pushing into the Jungpo oilfields in the southwest of North Dovani, and good old Gao-Sotoan courage has made this happen.

The Imperial flag is already flying across a good third of what was once Sekowan and Eastern territory. Airstrikes on targets in Dankuk have been going strong. Victory will be in reach by next year.

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Just one day shy of the first anniversary of the commencement of the Imperial War and the UCCR's senseless declaration of war against the the Empire, the Imperial military of Gao-Soto forced its way into the communist dictatorship's territory by way of the Trans-Dovanian Railway, the North Dovanian section of which are completely under control by Gao-Soto. Legally, the TDR, a transnational railroad, does not belong to any single nation, so Imperial forces have largely followed the contours of the five-foot gauge iron road. While the Rowiets were seemingly expecting Imperial forces to continue into Kazulia towards the UCCR, a different route was ultimately taken by the most mobile of units in a daring and clever maneuver.

The North Bay, which is ringed to the south by the northeast of the UCCR, the north of Kazulia, and the northwest of North Dovani, is crossed by the Northern Grand Bridge, one of the longest bridges on Terra. Spanning hundreds of kilometers of frigid sea with that amount of railroad, it was never constructed with Rowiet consent, but is nonetheless used by freight and passenger trains direct from North Dovani to the capital of the Draddwyr CCR, the city of Llwybr Hawl (Kyo: Ilbae). A land line between the UCCR and North Dovani would be built through Kazulia were it not for a lack of a response from the Kazulian government, but the general approach of a massive force of 500,000 men along the TDR towards Kazulia largely caused Rowiet forces to assume that they would continue on there.

Instead, the 82nd Strike Brigade, a legendary de facto special operations group of the Army that is regularly transported in whatever is fast - from utility vehicles to civilian sports cars to APCs to helicopters - struck across the bridge mostly in Type 3 LUVs, driving straight into Llwybr Hawl. Despite having forged across one of the longest, most desolate and most perilous bridges in the world with little supplies, being unable to set up camp then and there, the 82nd made the long crossing in a matter of hours starting in the early morning and arriving in dawn. They cleared out the bridge end easily. While the rest of the Imperial Forces are now preparing to cross the bay by helicopter and sweep across Dankuk in a wave of Imperial steel, the Northern Bay Raid will forever go down in history as one of the greatest military feats in the history of Terra.

Across the Empire, patriotic citizens viewed Prime Minister FM Kidehi Chojo's announcement of the daring raid via television with jubilation. Cries of Tennōheika Banzai (天皇陛下万歳, Long Live His Majesty the Emperor) and Dai 82 Ryodan O Nagaiki Sa Seru (第82旅団を長生きさせる, Long Live the 82nd Brigade) have been echoing up and down streets urban and rural for hours now. Every village, town, and city have been bedecked in Imperial flags as well as the ancient Banner of the Red Sun in celebration of the invasion.


A map of the route of the TDR that goes direct from the Rowiet Union to North Dovani across the North Bay, without stopping in Kazulia.

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Prime Minister FM Kidehi Chojo has announced that the cowardly Draddwyr CCR could no longer withstand the pressure from the overwhelming presence of Imperial forces throughout Lwybr Hawl. The Draddwyr administration has fled to Seongtaek and has gone into exile. Their main forces have capitulated, and Gao-Soto is now in control of their home area.

After being opened up by the Imperial Army's 82nd Strike Brigade in a daring December 6th raid that struck across the freezing North Bay into Llwybr Hawl or Ilbae, the capital of the Draddwyr CCR of the communist enemy state that is the Rowiet Union, a wider Imperial force of approximately 500,000 took the city, methodically clearing out the sprawling metropolis street by street for 22 days in what is considered a bloodbath - for the Rowiet forces, at least. Expecting an Imperial invasion through Kazulia, the bulk of the Rowiet military was focused on the border of that state for weeks, leaving little more than a minuscule force of Draddwyr forces on permanent post to defend the city, under the assumption that the Empire would never invade through the Northern Grand Bridge, which is the only way directly across the North Bay.

In a brilliantly clever feint, the main force continued in that direction, but upon the North Bay Raid's conclusion suddenly diverted to the perilous bridge crossing across the Bay, suffering no fatalities and few casualties in relation to the harsh conditions there. Moving at a similar speed to the 82nd, it reached Llwybr Hawl by the evening of the 6th, upon which the Battle of Llwybr Hawl began - though given that much of the Rowiet military was still confusedly wending its way back to the DWCCR, it can only be described as a long series of light skirmishes.

While opposition from the Draddwyr pockets of resistance that were stuck there was fierce and fanatical, a combination on their parts of aging and poorly maintained arms as well as sheer recklessness allowed the force to take the city more or less unscathed. Taking up a massive amount of the DWCCR's population and a good portion of its land area, Llwybr Hawl's loss has driven the government of the DWCCR at large to vacate to Seongtaek, the capital of the UCCR and the largest city of the Kyo CCR, which makes up the bulk of Rowiet territory. With airstrikes on Rowiet territory intensifying, the journey of Rowiet forces from the border with Kazulia is unlikely to have any significant impact on the Imperial force's ability to achieve victory, especially considering that even more Imperial reinforcements are well on the way.

Absolute elation has been in the air back home, with already large regular patriotic rallies celebrating the achievements of the troops on the Northern Front exploding in size. Calls to rename Llwybr Hawl, which is Draddwyr for 'Right Path', to its Kunikata translation, Seidō (正道) upon the Rowiet Union's inevitable capitulation are being enthusiastically entertained by the Teikoku Sensen, with Coordinating Minister of Will Tanigawa Kazuki reported by government insiders to be strongly in support of the notion.