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Operation Jagdbeute

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Operation Jagdbeute
Part of Intended Shirerithian withdrawal from Raspur Pact
Operation Jagdbeute roadblock.jpg
Officers of the Imperial Marshals (red) and State Police Department (blue) of the Imperial Constabulary blocking the road near the Benacian border and arresting Raspur personnel (grey) who are moving military assets.
Date 20.III.1724 - 8.XI.1724
Location Shireroth
Result
Belligerents
Shireroth Shireroth Raspur Pact Raspur Pact
Units involved
Imperial Forces.pngImperial Forces

Shireroth flag.png Imperial Constabulary

Shireroth flag.png Intelligence Services

Apollonia Command

Benacia Command

Defence Against Anomalous Phenomena

  • Cohort IV (Lichkeep)
  • Cohort VI (Kezan)
  • Cohort XII (Kezan)
  • Cohort XIII (Kezan)
  • Cohort XVI (Shirekeep)

Operation Jagdbeute, enacted on 20.III.1724 AN was the codename given to a series of actions inaugurated by Inspectorate and Commissariat formations of Apollonia Command and Benacia Command to seize, secure, and recover assets of strategic importance to the Raspur Pact from the territories of the Imperial Republic of Shireroth, and to decommission any assets that could not be safely evacuated to Pact loyalist territory within a reasonable timeframe. Operation Sciurusque was Shireroth's own covert plan to counter seizure operations like these and was only partly successful.

Whilst reported by sources within the Raspur Pact as an orderly series of evacuations ahead of a significant policy change affecting the alliance, the operation would be characterised by hostile commentators as a crude attempt at conducting the first intercontinental razzia in the history of Micras. In Shireroth, the raid was seen by several commentators and press as proof of the unreliability of the Raspur Pact with the rogue state, the Benacian Union, in charge. Calls for an immediate end of the nation's membership remained unanswered by the administration but public opinion became increasingly hostile towards the Benacians who were seen as the main instigators.

Background

During a session in the Folksraad, an emotional Steward Thuylemans calls for unity and the opening of the hunt on traitors.

The declaration of the Second Thuylemans Government concerning its withdrawal from the integrated military command structures of the Raspur Pact necessitated the commencement of actions to recover and draw down long established Pact assets located within the Imperial Republic.

The Shirerithian Steward, Louis Thuylemans, called the operation upon its launch the evidence that the Benacian Union had abused the Pact's structures throughout the years to gain access to key infrastructure. During a session on 22.III.1724 AN with the Folksraad he announced at its members: “Like a snake, the fascist military leadership of our neighboring country has betrayed our trust: it nestled in our midst. It was not enough for them to integrate parts of our former empire, no, it has cast its eyes on the entire cake. Now it strikes with its razor-sharp teeth in an attempt to further poison what remains. Now that the traitors, within and without, have shown their real face, we will free our homeland from their pernicious influence. We shall prevail!”

At the start of the operation, the Thuylemans government had not yet made any moves to leave the Pact. Despite the clear intentions during the 1723 general elections of the governing parties, the government declaration did not make it clear whether the promises made would actually be implemented. The warm pleas of the Alexandrian and Natopian delegations in favor of membership and promises for a greater role within the Pact had raised doubts among some dignitaries and internally the conflict between the Leave and Remain fraction threatened the unity of the administration. Louis Thuylemans himself was called out by several members of the Folksraad for his hesitant attitude on several occassions prior to the razzia.

The Benecian actions however torpedoed much of the last goodwill among the public and political elites. In Greater Kildare, pro-Humanist politicians were even targeted and in several cases arrested and sent to re-education camps.

The operation primarily overwhelmed the local national defense and police forces. The Raspurids achieved their first successes mainly in the areas on the Benecian mainland, although fierce resistance soon followed.

Mobilised formations

Timeline

IV.1724: a party of officers from the General Inspectorate attempted to gain access to the Musica Naval Arsenal, disguised as Imperial Marshals.
  • 20.III.1724: Action Klaus
  • 21.III.1724: Action Schwab
    • The exfiltration of loyalist officers from Shirekeep, entailing the activation of the 2nd Directorate of the General Inspectorate of Benacia Command, with the Provosts Regiment assigned to force security missions within the city.
    • Defence Against Anomalous Phenomena personnel commence with the burning of documents, destruction of hard drives, and placement of demolition charges at cohort field offices in Lichkeep, Kezan, and Shirekeep.
      • Upon receiving destruction orders, the DAAP Panalkey Station Commandant and Deputy Commandant were relieved of their duties by the camp prefect. Subsequently, datalinks to other DAAP Stations were terminated, cutting the remainder of the organization off from real-time bathymetric readings, 4D mapping of the Daemonic Realm, and research archives. A response message delivered to DAAP Station Demonsfall consisted of the words "Bless the Realm" and a tapeworm. The tapeworm spread rapidly through the DAAP Station Demonsfall computer network, infecting servers, workstations, handheld computers, and peripheral devices, locking out users and initiating a mass delete command. Organizational records and equipment firmware were replaced with copies of an audio recording of the Hymn of the Anticans, which began to play on repeat. The tapeworm successfully escaped to other DAAP Stations and the general internet, though only DAAP systems were affected by it.
  • 22.III.1724:
    • Inspectorate missions establish field forces in Modan and Highpass in order to provide for a secure environment during the recovery and evacuation process.
    • General Inspectorate of Apollonia Command commenced movement of personnel and equipment towards Gaelen's Landing and Port Nevermore for inventory, pending evacuation.
      • Attempts by unknown suspects, believed to be in the pay of Apollonia Command, to force their entry into the offices of Mangosoft Corporation were foiled by local corporate security.
      • Riled up by a number of disgruntled nobles and commoners, a mob attacks the Raspurid personnel in Gaelen's Landing. Ten Benacians get lynched, while 29 get hurt during the ensuing riots. The Imperial Constabulary counts over 260 injured among the protestors and eight injured police officers.
      • Oversea shipments are halted in the Great Kildarian harbours on orders of the Kildarian and Dalmacijan local authorities, while Raspur Pact personnel is interned in prison camps awaiting their repatriation.
    • An argument was observed between officers of the General Inspectorate of Benacia Command and Imperial Marshals after the former were noted to be moving 80,000x M1525 9 mm pistols and associated ammunition cases across the border into the Governorate of Austland in a convoy of trucks. Other vehicle convoys, escorted by the Schwinn Circle Field Force are subsequently observed heading towards the borders with Austland and East Caverden.
  • 23.III.1724: Grand Commissariat of Benacia Command established at Citadel in East Caverden in order to facilitate the reception of personnel and equipment evacuated from Brookshire and Modan.
    • A note from Benacia Command delivered to the Imperial Government clarified the intention to withdraw from Shireroth:
      • All personnel directly employed by the Pact, along with their associated equipment, documents, and stores;
      • Items previously transferred into Imperial Arsenals by Benacia Command:
        • 243,838x – M1591 7.62 mm rifles
        • 110,750x – M1656 9 mm sub-machine gun
        • 80,000x – M1525 9 mm pistols
        • 79,188x – M1508 Martini-Rossi 11.56 mm rifles
  • 1.IV.1724:
    • a party of officers from the General Inspectorate attempted to gain access to the Musica Naval Arsenal, disguised as Imperial Marshals. They had gained access to the docks before their subterfuge had been uncovered and they were obliged to flee. Reportedly they were discovered after one in their number had stopped to pet the dog belonging to an elderly dock foreman.
    • Benacia Command issued a directive mandating the immediate discontinuation in use of all networks connected to the insecure "global internet".
  • 2.IV.1724:
    • Artillery and area defence assets observed to arrive at Ohttrazdbarh (Holwinn).
    • Hundreds of computers associated with Imperial Forces and IDB corporations reported to be infected with the "Mog Wiper" malware, which renders computers inoperable by disabling rebooting.

Aftermath

The failure of Operation Jagdbeute in 1724 AN, which recovered minimal quantities of equipment and personnel from Shireroth, would see Ulrich Varens, Arben Alalehzamini, Bahram Feroz, Jahangir Mir, and Mirza Zurvanudin Khan spend three years in the custody of the Magisters-Carnifex, before they were invited to accept demotions and postings to the troikas of the General Inspectorate of Benacia Command in the Cimmeria and Raikoth Special Autonomous Region.

See also