Hoi 4 Chapter 11

Chapter 11 - Apr 1943: Meenen's Demise

Kornilov and his military advisers stand around a strategic map. Japan is close to defeat in the east, while the Anglo Alliance is close to victory to the west. At home, Kornilov's enemies have been dealt with. His military advisers tell him to be cautious, especially after the turbulent events the past week. Entering the war in Europe will be seen as pointless and hostile by the rest of the world. He nods his head at their words and turns away from the map, walking to the window. Next to the window is a painting of his great great grandfather Lenin Kornilov, former ruler of Russia and founder of Leningrad. He contemplates the choice he must make and then turns back toward the men waiting around the table.

Russia is by far the most powerful nation the world has ever seen. US intelligence estimates they field anywhere from 263 divisions to over 600. Their Air Forces are estimated to be around 10 thousand planes strong. Their only weak area is their navy, with about 18 ships. Industrially, Russia has more civilian and military factories than even the US.

Kornilov knows what Russia must do.

With the sudden and horrific change in Russian politics, Lotharingia is no longer the most dangerous nation in the world. It is Russia.

The offensive in Europe goes so well that Picardy is reborn on the 10th of April. The exiled government returns to the ruined capital Dunkirk, and they rejoin the fight.

As Japan is on its knees, Kornilov turns his gaze west. At long last, he declares war on Lotharingia. The Stali Pact is at war with the Covenant of Steel.

The race to victory begins, as Russia quickly tries to catch up to the Anglo Alliance's fight against the Covenant. As Castille joins the war, the little nation of Andalusia is no longer ignored, and they are quickly overcome by the enemy forces.

Surrounded from all sides, the Covenant collapses. By May, US troops are just miles from Luxembourg. Carinthia's capital of Gorizia is put under siege by Prussia, as Prussian and Hungarian forces flood into the country.

In the most foolish move of the century, Galicia joins the Covenant of Steel as it dissolves. Galicia, once a powerful seafaring nation, is now just several islands and ports spread all around the world. Their government has been friendly with the Covenant for years now, but they have not chosen to join until just now.

Luxembourg falls on the 13th of May. Meenen is nowhere to be seen, but that is no surprise. It seems at this point that the Stali Pact will reach Scandinavia before the Anglo Alliance has the chance to recover it. What they will do with it once they have it is not yet known.

Meenen's plane lands in Hamburg, where there is a caravan of cars waiting to take him to the docks. At the docks, a single submarine, the last ship in the Lotharingian navy, awaits his arrival. This will take him to Santiago, the capital of Chile. He will not be left to the mercy of either the Anglo Alliance or the Stali Pact.

His car ride there, with his wife Helen and their daughter Maxima, is completely silent. While this part of the country starves quietly in their houses, just a hundred miles away buildings are blasted apart as the Stali Pact recklessly grabs as much land as possible.

They arrive at the dockyard nearing nightfall on May 25th. The driver, Albert Kammel, parks and opens the door to let Meenen and his family out of the back of the car. The other cars in the caravan unload a dozen other men, loyal to Meenen, who will be coming with him. Albert stays by the car as Meenen and his entourage approach the submarine, and he looks up into the clear sky and then at his pocket watch.

Other trucks arrive with additional provisions for the trip. The majority was loaded weeks before, but final supplies are loaded on just after Meenen and his family board. As the last of the men board, Albert gets back in the car and, unreasonably quickly, drives out of the city.

Suddenly, the sky is not so clear. As though out of nowhere, thousands of bombers come from the west, dropping dozens of bombs each. Lotharingian aircraft are nowhere to be seen. Although the target is the dockyard, high altitude bombing is never accurate, and the entire city feels the wrath of the Anglo Alliance. Not a building is spared. One bomb by pure luck strikes the submarine directly and water gushes into its compartments. It takes just seconds, and the submarine and all within are at the bottom of the harbor.

The Lotharingian government falls into disarray, as the top 10 government officials die. It is the end of Lotharingia. Both the military and the government hierarchy collapse, and whatever is left of Lotharingia surrenders to the onslaught of enemies.