Chapter One: Opening Acts

It started simply enough, with a briefing like any other.

The only indicator to Lieutenant Colonel Tanya von Degurechaff that anything might be amiss was the sheer amount of attendees. At a glance, it looked as if the entire leadership of the Empire's Central and Eastern Army Groups had convened in one auditorium. Logically, she knew that was ridiculous. The amount of staff officers needed to conduct an operation on the scale of their current counter-invasion of the Federation would not fit in the university lecture hall that the Imperial Army had commandeered. But the sea of gold and silver braided epaulettes highlighting the crowd of attendees was truly remarkable.

Just as remarkable was how many faces she recognized as fellow Kampfgruppe commanders. Men who should have been rushing around the front putting out fires were instead, like her, called back to attend a briefing. While it wasn't unheard of for Kampfgruppen to be pulled back within the lines for retasking and reorganizing-indeed, their ad-hoc and goal-oriented nature encouraged altering the composition of the unit to better suit their objectives-a total recall of so many at once could really only mean one thing.

The Imperial Army had decided to switch things up.

That wasn't exactly surprising to Tanya. After all, aside from the early successes of March and April when the Empire was still close to its supply lines, their advance towards Moskva had ground to a near halt. It was slow going, but worse, it was costly. And a costly victory went against the principles of the attritional containment doctrine enforced by the General Staff. Knocking the Federation out of the war was all well and good, but it hardly mattered if the Empire couldn't maintain enough fighting strength to force the Commonwealth to accept peace. With that being the case, it was only natural for the Imperial Army to change strategies.

So she settled back, trying to look as dignified as she possibly could while sitting in the booster seat someone had fetched for her, and waited for the briefing to begin.

It wasn't long before man she recognized took the stage. Not personally, of course, but she would have been a poor officer indeed if she wasn't able to identify General Frederich von Paul, commander of the Eastern Army Group. Admittedly, he was still somewhat new to the position, having taken over from his predecessor just before the end of the previous winter, but Tanya considered it prudent to keep track on who her superiors and co-workers were.

"Loyal soldiers of the Reich," the dark haired man began, standing in front of a large map of the Federation that had been pinned to a board. A swagger stick was clutched in his hands, and he lightly tapped it against his upturned palm. "You are no doubt wondering why you have been called away from the front. The answer is simple. The fact that you are here means that you and the men under your command have been chosen for a vital role in our next move, codenamed Operation Attila."

Turning, he took his swagger stick and pressed the tip to the map, circling the area between the Imperial Army's furthest salient and the Federation capital. "The General Staff has decided to abandon the drive on Moskva for the time being, after judging the defenses between us and the city to be too heavy to be worth storming. Fortunately, new intelligence has uncovered an alternative."

The stick relocated south, being positioned squarely in the center of the "nation" that was currently hosting this gathering, the Republic of Ukrayiny. "As you are no doubt aware, the Empire has graciously begun transitioning occupied territory over to civilian rule, and assisting the ethnic groups formerly oppressed by the Communist government in establishing their own independent nations. In response to this policy, many of the periphery regions of the Federation have erupted in seperatist revolts, some of which have been extremely successful. In particular, reports indicate that the Reds have entirely lost control of the central Eurasian Steppe. Not only has this threatened the Federation's attempts to transfer industry to the east, it presents us with an opportunity to pincer the enemy's southernmost flank and potentially wipe them out.

This would further reduce the enemy's available strength and capture yet more of their vital industry, of course, but it would also allow us to strike at the rich oil fields of the Caucasus. With our new allies selling us grain and the oil of the Caucasus at our disposal, we would be able to effectively ignore the Commonwealth's blockade. And once the Federation is finished off, we may even be poised to launch a strike into the Raj, to force an end to the war should the Commonwealth still refuse to see reason."

Tanya found herself nodding along to the spiel. It was hopelessly optimistic, of course, but the core logic was sound. The Federation had focused their efforts on defending the approach to Moskva, so they would make that effort entirely wasted by attacking somewhere else. Although, something about this entire situation seemed oddly familiar.

As she mulled that over, General von Paul stabbed his swagger stick at a point along one of the massive rivers stretching through the Federation. "With these goals in mind, our primary objective will be the city of Josefgrad, along the Volga river."

Tanya's thoughts screeched to a halt. ...you've got to be kidding me.

"From Josefgrad, we will be able to advance in any direction. South, into the Caucasus, east, to connect our lines with the territory controlled by the Qazaq separatists, or north, to outflank Moskva's defenses," von Paul continued, unaware of Tanya's rising panic.

First we get Dunkirked, now we're being thrown into Stalingrad?! she wanted to scream. Urban warfare is the exact opposite of minimising casualties! Is the General Staff trying to lose the war?

The briefing continued as the General outlined the basic plan for the approach to the city itself, but Tanya found it hard to pay attention. All she could think about was the absolute disaster slowly unfolding before her. Her only hope was that a small, mobile force like her Kampfgruppe wouldn't be chosen for a meat grinder like that. If you insist on throwing away lives, please don't include mine in that!

She took a deep breath. Maybe she was overreacting. The Empire wasn't the Germany of the world she remembered. There was no Führer to override the military's decisions and risk everything for a propaganda victory. With luck, even if the assault went poorly, the brass would avoid falling victim to the sunk cost fallacy and make the call to abandon the city before the losses became ruinous.

I can hope, right? she thought glumly.

"...that is the basic course of action the Imperial Army has decided upon," von Paul was saying as she returned her attention to the briefing. "Now, I'm certain some of you have questions or perhaps suggestions, so I will now allow for discussion. Please raise your hand if you have something to say, and I will call you out by your seat placement."

Immediately several hands went up, Tanya's among them. However, she quickly realized a problem as the General's eyes scanned the crowd. Even with the added height from the high chair she had been provided, her extended arm was still far shorter and harder to spot than those of her fellow officers. Not for the first time, she cursed her tiny stature.

"Second row, fourth from the right."

A man ahead and to her right stood and asked an inane question about how best to approach the city, and received an equally inane answer. He sat back down, and Tanya went back to waving her own arm as energetically as she could while remaining within proper decorum. But despite her best efforts, General von Paul continued to call on other officers, officers who added very little of value. Her frustration built as no one seemed willing to ask what to her was the most obvious question.

Finally, just as she was ready to give up entirely, von Paul's eyes paused on her. "Third row, fifth from the left."

It took her a moment to confirm that yes, that was her seat, before she hopped off her seat and stood at drill-perfect attention. She resolutely ignored the fact that doing so had made her even harder to spot within the crowd.

"Sir!" she began, a simple volume amplification spell allowing her voice to carry through the auditorium. The men seated nearest to her winced slightly at the sudden noise, but she ignored them. "If I may ask, what was the reasoning behind selecting Josefgrad as our primary target?"

I swear, if we're just doing this to get one over on Comrade Josef…

Thankfully, that wasn't the answer von Paul gave. "Josefgrad is the largest industrial center along the southern Volga, and is a major rail hub in the region. It is also the site of a large rail bridge over the river, which is both a vital artery in the Federation's supply line to the Caucasus, and a perfect method for our army and supply train to get across the river itself."

"What's stopping the enemy from destroying the bridge when we approach?" she asked. It wasn't like the Communists to leave something for them to use. Their entire ideology is built on throwing a tantrum and wrecking all the toys because someone else has more than them, after all.

"They are likely hesitant to do so, due to the bridge's importance to their own logistics. In addition, its size and construction would make any attempt to prepare it for demolition slow and obvious."

Ah. I see.

"The engineers attempting to wire the bridge would be sitting ducks for Aerial Mages," Tanya surmised, beating the General to what she thought was likely his point. "Even if they couldn't hold the bridge permanently, repeated strikes would prevent the enemy from sabotaging it."

The room went silent for a moment, and Tanya again was irritated by her short stature as she couldn't see very well past the man seated in front of her. Unable to gauge the General's reaction, she could only hope she hadn't annoyed the man by finishing his sentence for him.

"...An excellent suggestion, Colonel von Degurechaff," he finally said, making Tanya feel a strange mixture of alarm and relief. Alarm at the fact that the General both knew her and chose to call her by name, and relief that he seemed to be extending to her the same courtesy he had to the officers who had spoken before her, complimenting her for pointing out the obvious. "Do you have anything else to add?"

She straightened, even though the man could barely see her. "I have one further question, if you don't mind, sir."

"Go ahead."

"Much of our strategy against the Federation has relied on the use of small, mobile Kampfgruppen in tandem with larger units, but this seems impractical in an urban environment. Do you have a plan for utilizing Kampfgruppe-scale units in the upcoming operation?" she asked. Hopefully the answer was no, and her unit could be transferred far away from any potential city fighting.

Another pause ensued, perhaps to allow the General to consider the question. "As ad-hoc formations, Kampfgruppen will be formed and dissolved as the situation demands. Rest assured, Colonel, that the correct people will be chosen for every task."

For some reason, Tanya von Degurechaff felt a chill go up her spine at that response.

As the surface of the Volga skimmed by below her, Tanya could only wonder if maybe she should have kept her mouth shut.

Ahead, the Dzhugashvili Railway Bridge stretched across the river, a giant of concrete and metal. Her Kampfgruppe, her ticket to the wonderful world of commanding from the rear, had been broken up yet again, and she'd somehow been forced back into commanding her old Battalion. Really, it was a wonder Weiss hadn't complained about having his new job taken away so soon.

Well, there wasn't much she could do about the situation. It mattered little whether you were a cog in a corporate or military machine, a cog was still a cog. It did as it was told, or else it was replaced. That said, summary executions for dereliction of duty were certainly a bit less common in the private sector.

Pushing those thoughts aside, she addressed her men as they drew closer to the bridge. "Alright everyone, listen up! The Reds seem to think they can tear down this city's infrastructure without even getting a permit! It's almost like they've forgotten who's in charge here."

She paused. Predictably, her unit of war-crazed veterans threw in their own jeers aimed at the enemy. In a way, their lust for battle made them easier to handle. All she had to do was give a gung-ho speech like a character from some sort of bad action movie, and they were fired up and ready to go.

"Well, it's up to us to remind them! My company will clear the catwalks below the bridge, the rest of you can head up top. And I know this is asking a lot, but try to keep an eye out for any Commies that look slightly more educated than the rest. Command continues to assure me they exist," she quipped, pausing again to give the men a chance to laugh at the Communists' expense. Once they were done, she continued. "The more of their engineers we take out, the longer it will take for them to try something like this again. You're fighting for your R&R time here!"

As they cheered, Tanya narrowed her eyes at the approaching bridge. A simple spell formula layered over her eyes, sharpening her vision. She gave its surface only a cursory glance, spotting several Federation soldiers through the iron struts making up the bridge's truss as they moved back and forth, before lowering her gaze to the catwalks hanging under the bridge and off its sides. As she expected, the Rus down there were focused on carting explosives and wire to the large concrete supports dotted along the length.

With any luck, disarming those will keep us occupied until the rest of the Battalion is done with the real fight up top, she thought with a smile, hefting her gun. Sorry Weiss, but at my rank I really don't belong on the front anyway.

"Battalion! Feuer frei!"

With a final burst of acceleration, the 203rd surged up from the river's surface and towards the bridge. Tanya paid her subordinates no mind as their Companies broke off from hers and continued to ascend, opening up on the surprised Rus with simple unenchanted lead. Throwing artillery spells at a target they wanted to take intact would have been rather stupid, after all.

Against mages, an assault using unenchanted weaponry and no offensive formulae would have been ill-advised. Against infantry who hadn't even heard of kevlar? She was certain her men would be fine. She'd made sure to have everyone bring some formula bullets anyway, just in case.

So she focused on her target. A pair of soldiers carrying a crate of explosives along the catwalk, no doubt heading towards one of the supports. They were just beginning to turn their shocked faces in the direction of the sudden gunfire when she slammed into their cargo, feet first. The wooden crate was ripped from their grasp in a spray of splinters, the shock sending them stumbling back into the railing. She twisted in the air, repurposing her acceleration spells to propel her leg into a roundhouse kick that sent the man to her left over the rail. Her eyes darted right, meeting the terrified eyes of the remaining soldier.

And then the butt of Lieutenant Serebryakov's rifle slammed into his face, and he followed his comrade and their supplies into the Volga.

The two landed on the catwalk with a clang, and then snapped their weapons up to aim down opposite ends of the walkway. Tanya sighted a man ahead, still struggling to unsling his rifle. A roll of detcord was wrapped around his shoulder, hampering his ability to ready his weapon. With mild pity, she squeezed the trigger, and he went sprawling. Behind her, Serebryakov's rifle cracked as she downed a target of her own, just as two Imperial mages passed under them, firing at the catwalk running along the other side of the bridge.

Taking a quick look around, Tanya didn't see any more enemies that weren't already being gunned down by her men. Lowering her gun, she addressed her wingman. "It looks like they've only managed to wire the supports closest to the east shore. We'll head that way and get rid of those charges while the others clean up that side."

"Got it," Serebryakov replied, turning to follow her commander.

The catwalk rattled as they took off once again, racing down the length of the bridge towards the nearest support. Even from a distance Tanya could make out the lumps of explosives tied, taped, and generally adhered to the massive concrete pillar's side. She could also see a handful of Rus scattered across the walkway, their rifles at the ready. As they began to open fire, Tanya and her Lieutenant simply drifted to the left, away from the bridge itself. The volley of rifle fire sailed harmlessly past.

The Rus were still frantically working the bolts of their Nagants as Tanya raced by, submachine gun rattling as she raked the catwalk with automatic fire. Bullets sparked off of metal, and the Rus jerked like puppets on a string before collapsing.

Cutting her speed, Tanya turned back in, passing over the bodies and coming to a stop hovering next to the colossal support. Her defensive screen was at full strength as she scanned the array of explosives before her. Working quickly, she drew her knife and lashed out, severing the lines of detonation cord hooked to the mass of bombs. Once she was confident that she had gotten them all, she allowed herself a sigh of relief.

"Okay…" she murmured, slinging her gun over her back and adjusting her grip on her knife. "Serebryakov. Help me get these things off here. Toss them in the river."

"Yes ma'am!"

Together, the pair set to tearing the explosives off of the pillar, their knives cutting away at the tape adhering them to it. Grabbing one of the charges and yanking it free, Tanya turned and extended her arm. She cast a simple alteration on a flight spell and the charge accelerated away, to splash into the Volga far off in the distance.

Beside her, Serebryakov started at the sudden launch. She watched the charge arc away, impressed. "What was that, Colonel?"

"One-shot flight spell. I just formed it around the bomb instead of myself," Tanya explained absentmindedly, digging the blade of her knife into another clump of tape.

Serebryakov took hold of one of the charges, gave it a thoughtful look, and extended her own arm in a mimicry of her commander. She narrowed her eyes in concentration, and her Type 97 shined as she formed a spell.

With a weak whump, the explosive spiraled down from her grasp and clanged off the catwalk's railing, before plummeting straight into the water below.

Tanya turned to stare at her subordinate, who looked back sheepishly. "I shouldn't have to tell you not to screw around with explosives, Lieutenant," she deadpanned.

"S-Sorry, ma'am!"

Sighing, the blonde shook her head and went back to her work. "...I can teach you the method I used later, if you really want. It's been a while since I've overseen any training exercises, anyway."

Serebryakov suddenly began to look nervous. "Um, did you say...training?"

As she flung another charge up-river, Tanya noticed the other girl's unease. Ah, she's no doubt worried about the feasibility of taking time off for training while we're stationed in a combat zone.

"I know we're likely to be extremely busy for the foreseeable future, but I can probably squeeze in a few private training sessions for you," she assured. It really wasn't that complicated a trick, but the experience of adapting a spell normally applied to oneself for use on a held object was surprisingly informative. Serebryakov would pick it up quickly, she was sure.

The Lieutenant blinked, and then stiffened, a blush on her face. "Private training sessions…" she repeated to herself quietly as she continued slicing through tape.

Tanya, meanwhile, frowned as she considered her own words. 'Extremely busy' may be an understatement. We may have been called in to suppress the enemy's demolitions efforts, but there's no way the brass will be able to resist making use of a unit like ours. Soon they'll be giving us every tough job they need done.

She let out an annoyed huff. Permanent readiness, just like on the Rhine. Goodbye, proper sleep schedule.

The noise drew Serebryakov's attention. "Colonel? Is something wrong?"

"Just lamenting that now that we're back to being an on-call Battalion, we'll be saying goodbye to the sleeping arrangements we had as a Kampfgruppe," Tanya muttered. It was a bit unprofessional to complain to someone under her command, but if there was anyone she felt that she could share her annoyance with, it would be Serebryakov.

"Sleeping-? Oh!" Serebryakov's eyes widened. "I didn't realize you liked the, um, 'sleeping arrangements' that much…" she said, cheeks red.

Tanya glanced over at her adjutant, raising an eyebrow. Why wouldn't I prefer a cabin or home with an actual bed to an army cot in a muddy tent?

"Of course I do, Lieutenant. don't be silly," she stated plainly, casually removing the last of the explosives and disposing of it into the river.

"I see…" Serebryakov replied, a warm smile spreading across her face.

Returning her knife to its sheathe, Tanya was about to say something when her radio crackled to life.

"Colonel, it looks like the enemy's finally caught on to us," Weiss' voice cut in. "They're forming up on the east bank for a counterattack. No mages, but they've got heavy tanks. Looks like a new model. Orders?"

Tanya's hand went to her throat mic. "Switch to formula rounds and keep them suppressed with artillery spells! As soon as we've finished disarming the enemy's explosives, we'll pull out."

"Understood."

Tanya turned towards the next bridge support, swiftly unslinging her weapon and changing out the magazine. "We're on a time limit now, Lieutenant. so let's go!"

"Right!"

The two of them sped off.

"Absolutely not! There will be no retreat!"

"But, Comrade General Secretary, we simply don't have the men to hold the city!"

Up and down the meeting table, men continued to bicker. For his part, Loria simply resisted the urge to put his face into his hands as the army continued to protest Comrade Josef's latest decree. It was a sign of just how desperate the situation had become that they would dare display such open insubordination. Before the war, this sort of behaviour would have been enough to earn a trip to Sildberia. These days, it was a regular occurence in the Kremlin.

Though, as he continued to flip through increasingly grim reports of the situation in the south, he found it hard to blame the army in this instance. The Empire's most recent offensive had caught them completely by surprise, and the front line had broken like glass under a hammer. Aside from a few hastily deployed Tank Divisions, all that was available for any attempt to relieve Josefgrad was a mass of barely trained reserves. Much of the Federation's strength was currently tied up either defending the western approaches to Moskva, or stamping out Seperatist uprisings.

Really, while Josefgrad was an important city, it wasn't vital enough to warrant expending so many lives to save. That was why the NKVD had avoided intervening in the argument so far. Either the army would convince Comrade Josef, or the General Secretary would snap and order the NKVD to conduct another purge anyway. So he decided to simply wait and see.

Continuing to tune out the shouting around him, Loria turned to the next page of the report he was reading. A moment later, he froze, his eyes honing in on the page. He reread the words several times, feeling his heart rate begin to increase. Carefully setting the papers down, he took a deep breath, and schooled his features.

"Enough!" he roared, slamming his fist down on the table. The officer who had been speaking shut his mouth, his face paling rapidly. Heads swiveled to face him as everyone tensed, waiting to see what the NKVD's reprisal would be. "The city of Josefgrad is a shining beacon of the cause! We cannot abandon its people to the imperialists! To do so would be to let the invaders tear out the very heart of the Revolution!"

The collection of army officers sat across from him stared in fear. No doubt they were wondering who among them would be made into an example for their overstep. Well, fortunately for them, something much more important is at stake here, Loria thought to himself.

He smiled at them. It was a thin, sickly thing. Bringing his hands together, he addressed the frightened men with a tone that could perhaps have been called friendly had it come from any other individual. "But, I recognise your worries, Comrades. You do not wish to send our brave soldiers into battle without the tools they need. Rest assured that you will have the full support of the NKVD in this endeavour. Simply tell us what you need, and the Motherland will provide!"

The men shared suspicious glances, but as he merely continued to smile at them, a cautious optimism kindled in their eyes. "Ah, thank you, Comrade Commissioner," one of them offered.

Loria nodded back. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Josef give him an appreciative look, but he disregarded it. This wasn't a mere political play. No, a much greater prize was at stake here. His eyes lowered back to the report in front of him, and his smile grew, becoming both more genuine and more twisted as he once again reread the words that had so excited him.

Named Mage "Devil of the Rhine" encountered at Josefgrad.