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soulking

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Infected Siege of Brasov

57770066.png

Lt. General Kriuchenkin, commander of the 42nd Guards Rifle Division
[As a fanatic for diaries, recordings, statements - anything to do with the initial Outbreak, I came across a colleague of mine - a Russian by the name of Yaroslav Ionuț - when I was drinking a cup of tea at the local diner beside my hotel in Edinburgh. I don't really believe in fate, but when he informed me that he had a diary from a Romanian private during the Infected Siege of Brasov, I had to take the chance. I went with him to his office in one of the buildings in downtown Edinburgh - he works as an Independent Consultant, something I really do not want to ask what it is. It was decorated like any other office - a small tea table, a desk in the middle, some chairs, papers on his desk (a newspaper from the mid-fifties with a heading related to the Reclamation) and a collection of books on a bookcase. Yaroslav slid his hand across the table to move everything off, opened his backpack, and took out a small book - bounded with a long piece of leather that ran across the book thrice - and placed it on the table.

Yaroslav sits on the opposite side of the desk - the 'boss' side - and motioned for me to sit as well. Before letting me see, he tells me that he bought this book from a friend of a friend who got it whilst she was escaping from the Infected in the Ukraine. Eagerly, I took out my small notepad and pencil, opened the book, and began to take notes.]

[There are no dates which state when each journal entry was written. There are, however, spaces in-between the entries so I believe they are entered at different dates. The journal belongs to a Private Andrei Barbu.]

bofbrasov.png

The soldiers of the 42nd Guards Rifle Division were able to hold out for around a week under constant assaults from the Infected
When the message from the General was heard on the radio around our forward HQ, I could not believe my ears. We were fighting a retreat from Romania - my motherland - to the Russian's homeland when the Bolnaves [1] surrounded us in Brasov as we trekked northward. The forward elements of the 42nd Guards Rifle Division were massacred by the Bolnaves; our commanders ordered us to fall back to the city and wait for further instructions - which by now is what the General is saying now. I'll write what he is speaking through the radio.

"-have been surrounded. Those creatures who attacked us have us surrounded within this city - Brasov. I know that it may seem that all is lost; impossible to survive against a creature that knows no pain and fears no death. But I will tell you this; when the Fascists attacked Moscow, we never backed down. When the Fascists attacked Stalingrad, we fought them back, inch by bloody inch. In Leningrad, we suffered under the Fascists, but NEVER fell. And WE WILL NOT FALL HERE! For every inch of land those creatures try to take, REMEMBER! If we shall fall, then we will bring them down with US!"

His speech motivated us, the Russians (obviously) started drinking vodka and singing Russian songs; Государственный гимн СССР. They do get drunk easily, but they party crazy.

[A gap is present between this entry and the next one. The feel of this next entry is more tense.]

We've suffered our....I'm not sure how many survived, but from the day before's 7,000, around 5,000 - 5,500 survived the fifth, sixth...I'm not sure as to the number of waves that the Bolnaves came in, but they are decimating our defences. Originally, we started almost 8 miles from the city but after this attack, we are just 1, 1-half mile from the city's outskirts....

Our spirits are not as high as they were about 4 days ago. That, along side with the decreased ration of food and supplies; General Kriuchenkin decided to tighten the hold onto the dwindling amount of rations. On the second day, he created a table for ration division. Combat troops or Ration I troops were given a daily maximum of 1,698 grams (3.74 lb) which included 700g of bread, 136g of meat, 9g of coffee (I hated the stuff to begin with; by the third day, I would kill to have a sip) and an assortment of other items.

Support troops (engineers etc.) or Ration II groups would be given a daily maximum of 1,483 grams (3.26 lb) which included 600g of bread, 56g of meat, 3g of coffee (thank God I'm not in Ration) and an assortment of reduced items. The last group was the personnel in the HQ, they were given a range between those in Ration I and Ration II groups; however, they got the most coffee; about 10g of it.

Today, the Major of our brigade informed us the restrictions on our rations; Ration I's would receive a daily maximum of 1,256 grams (2.76 lb) of ration while Ration II's received a daily maximum of 1,038 (2.28 lb), just over 1,000g of Ration. We won't survive long. The men that I'm with; Sergei, Vladimir, Petru, Yuri, Viktor and a Cossack we just call "Coss" all complain about it; but we're still better than the support units. God, I pity them....

bofbrasovmap.png

Surrounded by all sides, the 42nd was effectively trapped with no hope of reinforcements
[Another gap is present. This time, it's just a single paragraph, written messily and in cursive Romanian. I've asked Yuroslav to help me decipher it but some words are just too messily to understand.]

Third defense broken.....back to HQ.....the Bolnaves are coming [or attacking] from all sides. Sergei and Petru were killed [or attacked] by the Bolnaves.....me, Coss and Viktor....retreating towards the HQ....General Kriuchenkin ordered.....mass fall back.....writing as I'm.....shots everywhere...soldiers screaming as.....rip apart....going to make it....

[Again, another gap. This time, this following is written legibly and is unlike the previous entry.]

Me, Coss and Viktor weren't able to make the HQ in time, which apparently is a blessing in itself. As the Bolnaves chased us, we were forced into an apartment building some 100-150 meters from the HQ - the radio that Coss had in his kit was brought out and turned on. At once, the quiet in the building disappeared as voices came out of the radio like boxer throwing jabs at his opponent. Voices fought against one another as the we struggled to listen; "This is Gunner Privalova...couldn't make it to the HQ but I have two other gunners along with an injured soldier from the 10th Batt- NO! Get him off Cornel!! NOO!!!......" - "-tention, the north sector of the city has fallen. I repeat, the northern sector of the city has fallen. This is......" - "We cannot survive! Our leaders have lied to us! We are expen....."

And a lot more of voices from the radio was heard, but I gave up after the third. There is a window in the room that we are in and after exploring up the apartment, we found out that it had 12 floors - us being on the second.

[This is the last entry.]

I've given up hope. It's madness. Maria, my darling wife, I will see you soon. Robert, my son, papa is coming home.​

[The remainder of the page is ripped. Both Yuroslav and I suspect that Andrei suicided by jumping out of the topmost window or from the roof.]

-------

[1] - From what Yuroslav tells me, the most accurate translation for this word - from Romanian to English - is the sick or the diseased.

Oh boy. Excellent update as ever, I can see we've got a lot more grimdarkness to go through before we're even able to hold the infected off effectively.

Yep, the basically sums it up. :D
 
Last edited:

soulking

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Oh dear, the ending was really heartbreaking.
Keep it commin'!

Agreed on both counts.

I wanted to try something more personal. One that would hit the reader. :D

Hey in game have the Aliens developed Nukes yet?

They have; I have, however, disabled their ability to use Nukes.

It's pretty funny to see zombies with AT weaponry. :p

I know. :D Just think of them as zombies with more armour and stuff.
 

Fenrir 1576

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Just a suggestion, but I know that the Fallout mod for HoI2 has some really nice zombie-esque units that you might be able to use instead of the normal alien skins, if you'd be willing to edit all that just for the aesthetic appeal.
 

soulking

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Just a suggestion, but I know that the Fallout mod for HoI2 has some really nice zombie-esque units that you might be able to use instead of the normal alien skins, if you'd be willing to edit all that just for the aesthetic appeal.

I might not, sorry. If it helps, you could imagine them as zombie aliens. :D

Oh it hit, sledgehammer like hit

It's good to know that it works. :D

I'll have an update either by tomorrow or Saturday.
 

soulking

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France Shall Collapse

"What are you talking about? Britain's never going to fall!" - Unknown

ibofnantesbrest.png

The last hubs of resistance - Nantes and Brest - fell to the Infected, thereby silencing any military attempts to re-claim the north.
February 1 started with the battles in Brittany; the Infected Battles of Nantes and Brest. Separated and cut-off, the valiant defenders in Nantes tried desperately to hold their ground - a previous radio contact with the French government informed the battered soldiers that transports will be arriving by sea. That turned out to be a half-truth. It was true that the transports came, but not for everyone. Out of the 40,000 soldiers trapped in Nantes, only 700 escaped - the majority from Field Marshal Goislard de Monsabert's personal group, himself included. When news of this reached de Monsabert's troops in the front, they reportedly either shot themselves or simply ran up to the Infected. In retrospect, the units trapped in Brest were worse; German Field Marshal Koenig commanded 11 divisions - roughly 110,000 men - but with no communications between him and his superiors, the Marshal decided in mounting a small-scale evacuation by using the 3 operating transport planes - cargo planes; loaded them with Allied and French forces and sent them to Plymouth. British FLD Private John Edwards writes of this news:

"When our Captain, a former Wehrmahct officer, Joseph Aldinger told us that our company was to be sent back to Britain, everyone - I swear even the godless Alfred was rejoicing! We collected our knapsacks and started marching towards the airfield; there our company was joined by another two platoons - one German, another French - and were addressed by Marshal Koenig. He said - and this is word for word - that 'the war for you soldiers is over. These planes behind me will be sending you to Britain and hopefully, the British will let you land.' Prior to us being loaded on, there was rumours that the English were going to shoot the planes down once they started to cross the Channel; I know that the Marshal did send repeated messages to the English, telling them that he's sending over some Allied soldiers. But I'm not sure..."​

ibofgrenoble.png

Marshal Juin's defense of Grenoble would be instrumental in the re-construction of Hadrian's Wall on the Scottish border.
Marshal Koenig's decision to send some troops back to the United Kingdom was important in the partial survival of his army; the first of the planes was unfortunately shot down after a mistaken communique from Fighter Command to the shore defences, the latter two planes would successfully land in Plymouth. The Marshal would remain in Nantes and fight with his soldiers to the end, reportedly killing almost two divisions worth of Infected before being overwhelmed; Nantes would fall after a 4 day siege, on February 4, 1947.

By February 11, the whole of Northern and the majority of Central France were under the control of the Infected, resistance was scattered, ranging from a lone survivor to rag-tag groups of marauders. On February 13, after the defeat of French forces in La Rochelle - where a force of 30,000 French troops attempted to attack and re-capture Limoges, as well as French forces in Nice, Lyon, Clermont-Ferrand and Saint-Etienne, 3 divisions of French/Mexican FLD, led by Field Marshal Juin became encircled in the mountain fortress of Grenoble. Surrounded by all sides, the French/Mexican troops would successfully hold the city for almost a month before succumbing to the waves of attacks; many experts believe that the main reason being the environment in which the soldiers had to endure. There was even a rumour that the Marshal was actually killed early on in the siege. The siege would officially end on March 7, 1947.

mapofeuro2.png

The situation in France and Europe by late February; the Spanish would become the next targets.
Whilst the Infected Siege of Grenoble was occurring, the Infection was spread into Toulon as well as Bergerac, and after the Infected Battle of Montpeiller, the Infected effectively split the French forces into two; the ones linked to the French government in Pau and those French divisions trapped in Nimes and Marselle. With Nimes and Marselle cut off, the 160,000 troops, under the command of General Martin, prepared for the inevitable; and like Marshal Koneig, he utilized the various naval assets available to him and decided to inform the French government in Pau of his intent to transport his army to Corsica, one that was not approved of by the government, but General Martin still decided to proceed on. He would successfully negotiate with the Italian government to occupy Corsica while his troops depart from Marseilles to the former French island. There was a backlash from the French, saying that it was an Italian conspiracy to attain more land, but the was simply ignored on the international scale. The evacuation of Nimes and Marseilles would become one of the greater tragedies in post-Hitler Europe; of the 160,000 soldiers and with enough ships to carry half of that, only 4,000 made it to Corsica, the rest either perished during the in-fighting between the various factions of soldiers or were killed outright by the Infected.

"It's been three hours since the last of the surviving transports departed - the majority of them were destroyed in an arson attack by some of the British FLDers; those dam Brits! It's their fault we're in this mess, if they hadn't attacked us! I hear them....The shooting of bullets being fired against one another; the British, the French, the Brazilians and Mexicans, all fighting to survive. And surrounding us all, the multitude of Infected attack us; with no organized defense or any plans, they are advancing more rapidly then first though. Their screams could be heard, even in the inner parts of Marselles, the screaming of the forsaken..." - French Lt. Rene Dupont​

*Side-Note: It was at this time that India and Pakistan would gain their independence from the British; it would have cost the British more manpower and money to patrol the whole of her massive empire, so certain regions were given the right of self-government.

-----------------

Sorry for the lack of updates - I was busy this week and last; hopefully I'll get another up by friday or saturday. Also, my updating scheduled is not going to be organised; most likely, it'll be when I have the time to do it.
 

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Well... at least the Infected are soon going to run out of land to conquer?

Mmhh.... I'm not that sure, they still have Africa and Asia connected by land...... Let's hope that something prevents them from eating their way through Eurasia
 

soulking

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Never mind, the update is neat and a good read as usual ;)

Thank you very much! I wouldn't say I have the best of grammar but it's nice to hear that it's readable.

Well... at least the Infected are soon going to run out of land to conquer?

Maybe. The Infected do act like zombies so they would have limits to where they could move into.

Mmhh.... I'm not that sure, they still have Africa and Asia connected by land...... Let's hope that something prevents them from eating their way through Eurasia

Well, if the governments could find an effective way to close down the Suez, then it's possible to halt the spread into Africa.

One word: China. Total Clustercuss of peasantry standing around and waiting to be infected.

Agreed. If the Infected reach China, then the whole of East Asia and Asia itself would be screwed.
 

soulking

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Mission Report - Toulouse

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Maurice Thorez would become the first leader of the French People's Republic.
Date: February 15 1947 - February 20 1947
Time: 11:07:00 - 13:34:00
Location: Toulouse, France

Between February 15 to February 20, the newly created French Fifth Army, commanded by General Goislard de Monsabert were forced into a heavily pitched battle against the Infected swarm. De Monsabert's divisions consisted of seven infantry divisions, two militia divisions, one engineer brigade and one artillery brigade; totaled to nearly 50,000 soldiers. Prior to the attack, de Monsabert's divisions fought against the Infected at Saint-Etienne[1], where they loss the equivalent of one division of men as well as their remaining armour - this group consisted of 6 divisions, part of VI Corps - as well as at Montpellier[2], where another division worth of men fell - these divisions were part of III Corps; both these battle varied between February 12 and 13. The exhausted divisions - on the brink of mutiny[3] - were sent to Toulouse, this time, under the banner of de Monsabert and the Fifth Army. Arriving at 11:34 pm, de Monsabert gave the divisions a resting period, which was quickly broken at 12:55 am when an intelligence report of a mass of Infected approaching towards de Monsabert's position was sent via radio to the general's command center. Given only an approximation of 3-4 hours before the Infected arrive, de Monsabert ordered his men to construct makeshift defences; we proved useless in the end.

Contact happened at 04:21 am with the outer patrols reporting of Infected sitings along with the screams of the dying heard on the radios. The area that the Fifth Army was camped in was a wooded area with hills; the outskirts of Toulouse. De Monsabert knew that this battle was a crucial one, the one that he needed to win in order to survive - with the Pyres behind him, there was no way he would be able to reach Pac safely before the Infected attack him. Further digging into the general's background revealed a startling information.

Pour: Gen. de Monsabert Date: 19 Janvier 1947
De: Gen. Sec. Maurice Thorez
Sujet: Re: Une position dans le nouveau gouvernement

General de Monsabert, I am deeply humbled by your decision to join our cause to end the Fascist regime that was started by Marshal de Gaulle after the liberation of our motherland and the suppression of the people by their so called "Free French" units. My party members in Pac have informed me of the growing tensions against the Marshal - our party numbers are growing everyday, but at the cost of the many lives lost by de Gaulle and his so called "plans". Therefore, I will be informing you that on 5 March, 1947, the Parti Communiste Français will lead an uprising against de Gaulles' government and install a new, Communist government that will benefit the people. As such, I wish to extend you the position of Chief of the Army once the revolution has succeeded. [4]

monsabert5.jpg

General de Monsabert accepted the position as the Chief of the Army in Thorez's new Communist government, but died before he could take office.
The telegram sent by General Secretary Maurice Thorez to de Monsabert gives the conclusion as to way the general fought hard to survive this battle - the opposite of his later battle in Brittany. The Infected began to reach the outer eastern perimeter of the HQ by 05:04 am - they were met by a fierce barrage of bullets by the divisions assigned to that area with was met by a boost in morale; by 05:31 am, the entire outer perimeter of the HQ was surrounded while the soldiers under de Monsabert continued to fight a bloody battle against the Infected - some of the soldiers who ran out of bullets used their bayonets and charged against the swarm, either an act of bravery or suicide by proxy; the defenders were bleeding the Infected for every inch of land they occupy, and still they came while de Monsabert's numbers' began dropping.

As 06:00 am began creeping, the Infected had breached into the Inner perimeter of the HQ; the number of Infected killed so far number around 6 - 12,000 whilst de Monsabert suffered a loss of 4-7,000 in under 2 hours. A notable event that occurred during this hour was the defence placed by Lt. Julian and the 12th Battalion; forming into two square formations each with five rows, the Lt. ordered for a alternate fire between the ten rows with five rows firing first, then the other five rows fire while the first is reloading and resting. This controlled, organized usage of 18th century strategy allowed for the 12th Battalion to survive longer, untill Lt. Julian was attacked by an Infected that sneaked up on him. How, Lt. Julian's strategy would be forgotten for almost 3 years under the Infected attacked the British at Hadrian's Wall - which was when the strategy was used once again, but on a larger scale.

The battle at Toulouse would end on February 20, after the HQ was overrun by the Infected; General de Monsabert was proclaimed killed in action by the French High Command whilst Maurice Thorez's plan to overthrow de Gaulle continued, succeeding on March 7 after fighting between the "French Guards" [5] and the soldiers of the 7th Infantry Brigade, which was loyal to the government and de Gaulle.

[1] - The Infected Battle of Saint-Etienne.

[2] - The Infected Battle of Montpellier.

[3] - It is entirely possible that if the news of General de Monsabert's personal escape from Brittany had been leaked to the soldiers, that a full-blown rebellion against the general could have happen. The combination of exhaustion, loss of morale, little food and sleep made for the French Fifth Army's action nothing short of a miracle.

[4] - When the letter was leaked to the English in 1958, the French government did little to dispute the claims - having little International affairs, this was easy. In March 10, 1947 the French People's Republic (also known as the People's Republic of France or Communist France) was declared with the ousting of Marshal de Gaulle and the creation of a Communist state under Maurice Thorez as President of the French People's Republic (Thorez would still keep the title of General Secretary of the French Communist Party) and Jacques Duclos as the Premier of the French People's Republic.

[5] - The French Guards became the official battalion of soldiers that guarded the President of the French People's Republic. In the early days of its founding, it was led directly by Thorez but during the 1st French Communist Congress in March 17, 1947, it was decided that the French Guards would be commanded by a Colonel (or General) who reported directly to the President and was outside the French military.

-------
Writer's block and a ton of work led to delayed updates. I'm still playing the game, but it will need some minor modifications.
 

Zhuge Liang

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Well that was unexpected, I'd assumed that France ended up becoming some sort of fascist state rather than a Communist one. I'm not sure if a zombie apocalypse is the best time to launch a coup and further divide the human forces but I guess Thorez has to act now if he wants to rule France while some portion of it still exists.