Surrounding Nivardom

[Basileusa Cleo]

On the 2nd of Novaber 1649 the troops had finally reached and surrounded Nivardom. The man in charge of the operation was Strategos Paxos, a veteran from the Euran War. The local Home Guard garrison had given full control to the Strategos as soon as he arrived at the airport, which was still under its control. The information he was handed included a map of the down showing all the parts that were thought to be under the control of the Nivardomski Otechestvenofrontovska - which comprised about 93% of the whole city. The few prominent buildings not under occupation were the small Bovic cathedral and the consulate of Shireroth - that of Natopia, as well as government buildings, the local library and theatre, supermarkets and the three police offices were all surrendered to the Nivardomski Otechestvenofrontovska. "How many have been killed?" asked the Strategos, but unfortunately there were no accurate figures - ranges were anywhere from 300 to 15,000.

"Do they have any supplies, by the river or from the nearby Green? How are they armed?"

All the information which Paxos collected just confirmed previous assumptions - the Nivardomski Otechestvenofrontovska did not have solid military strength (as they would not have been able to develop one under Constancian control), but probably relied on illegal tribes from outside of Nivardom's territory. They were probably also silently supported by Passian pirates, although for sensible political reasons this could not be announced nor commented publicly.

As he had absolutely no time to plan the organisation of the operation, Paxos had to do both the planning and the acting simultaneously. He quickly set up an "Operational Committee" with him as the commander and 4 other members, one from the local Home Guard. He passed the Basileusa's instructions onto them, namely that no immediate military action be taken because of the high risk of civilian casualty. "The Basileusa has ordered us to try and establish a secret communication channel, which shall operate on an unofficial level. During this time, our strategy would be to suck silently out every piece of valuable resource they have been exposed to. Soldiers will run in small groups of up to 4 during nighttime. There will be 7 such groups, 6 tasked with collecting or destroying all such resources and one for intelligence information collection."

"Strategos Paxos, but can we not try rescuin civilians?"

"I am afraid the risk is too great, the rumour will spread and the Nivardomski Otechestvenofrontovska will be exposed to the strategy. In fact, we have to make sure that anyone who might know of our action does not speak out..."

[Primo de Aguilar]

A Constancian Air Force helicopter landed at the airport, and an individual in a Home Guard officer's service uniform got out, followed by a few more dressed in the distinctive combat uniform of the Private Guard.

They made their way to the command tent, with soldiers all around wondering who this was and what this meant.

A command conference of the Operational Committee was soon convened, and a briefing took place.

Within the hour, the roar of numerous helicopters drowned out any possible conversation.

Those in Nivardom would see these helicopters flying above their besieged and beleaguered city, as sheets of paper floated eerily towards the ground.

The message was in all Constancian languages, as well as in Babkhan.

Residents of Nivardom:

You have fifteen days from today to lay down your arms, forswear violence against Basileus Megaliótate, swear an oath of loyalty, and depart Nivardom via the sea.

Those who refuse and remain shall be proclaimed in open rebellion to the Throne and dealt Basileus Megaliótate’s Justice.

Choose wisely.

[Primo de Aguilar]

The two Northman-class Corvettes flying the Constancian colors had recently arrived to blockade Nivardom from the sea. They had also assisted in ferrying civilians to safety, all of whom had been required to swear the loyal oath before the flag and in the presence of a naval officer, who attested each document, bearing the personal details of the individual, as well as their signature. They would form the initial basis of a great undertaking by the Kanikleios, but the civilians were not aware of that. Those of arms-bearing age were given even greater scrutiny, particularly the males. The eyes of the Kingdom would never turn away from them, whether these poor fools realized it, or not.

The civilians had been resettled to a nearby receiving center, its status temporary as the tents they were shown proved evident. They were at least clean, and warm food provided to them, as well as adequate clothing. To keep their minds from insurrectionist pursuits, a school was established for the children and those adults who chose to study trade and vocational pursuits, as well as how to care for children and basic sanitation and health tips. There were even the beginnings of a symphony of sorts, with what rudimentary skills were available. The instruments for all, brand new.

At the appointed time, the senior naval officer commanding glanced at the watch on his hand and nodded to his officer of the watch, who gave a curt order. Within minutes, the ship's company was at alert, as Constancian aircraft overhead made their presence known, with accompanying fighters to ensure air superiority.

Over the next daylight hours, the Buccaneers delivered their deadly thousand-pound payloads on critical infrastructure, practically anything made of steel or concrete, until all that could be seen was rubble. Anything that moved was hosed down with machine-gun or cannon fire, delivered by aircraft orhelicopter. They only paused when night began to fall.

When the sun rose again, it was more of the same. And on the third day, and on the fourth. There was a pause of operations on the fifth day, at which time, the assembled Home and regular Army forces began probing from the outskirts, expanding their reach, clearing buildings one by one and placing sentries at each. On the sixth day, with the army advance halted, the destruction began anew.

On the seventh day, they all rested, and remained alert. The smoke from the demolitions marked where Nivardom once stood.