11-06-2020, 07:59 AM
November 6th
30 miles east of Zapotlán
The Xiomeran Imperial Army was on a mission.
Having been beaten back at Zapotlán, and embarrassed in western Huenya, the Army's morale had plummeted. But after Xochiuhue's removal, and Calhualyana's ascension to power, the Imperial Army had regained its composure. It had also discovered a new motivator - wounded pride. The reputation of the Imperial military, previously seen as a dangerous foe, had taken a serious hit. They were determined to prove themselves again.
They also had allies. Iskirami soldiers would be joining them on the front lines, in support of Calhualyana and her bid to preserve the Empire.
Even as Calhualyana talked peace, she had prepared for war. She had summed it up very simply to her frontline commanders, in a speech she gave them on the evening of November 5th. "If the people to the west of us want no part of the Empire anymore, so be it. We want no part of them either. But this army camped east of Zapotlán occupies Xiomeran land. They occupy one of our cities. They control our canal. This is not Necatli land, or Itotemoc land, or Tepiltzin land, that they occupy. It is Xiomeran land and it always has been. And we will take it back," she had declared.
Accordingly, during the lull in fighting that had occurred after the fall of Zapotlán and the retreat from what was now Huenya, the Imperial Army had quietly prepared and planned. Now, it was the time for the eagles of Xiomera to strike again.
In the early morning hours of November 6th, the previously silent front line east of Zapotlán erupted. Missiles, accompanied by a full-scale artillery bombardment, blasted Huenyan positions along the entire front line. In their wake, the Imperial Army began its assault. Several mechanized divisions of the Imperial Army, previously based in Tlālacuetztla and among the Empire's best, slammed into the Huenyan lines like a sledgehammer. Completely unprepared for the Imperial assault, the Huenyan lines began to break, and Imperial units were soon on a headlong march towards the Intra-Xiomera Canal and Zapotlán. Their orders were simple: push the Huenyan and allied forces back out of Zapotlán and past the Intra-Xiomera Canal into Huenyan territory, and re-establish the front line at a point 20 miles west of Zapotlán, where the historic border between Xiomera and the Tepiltzin lands lay.
In Tlālacuetztla, the General Staff, led by General Zinahue, watched the advance unfolding in real-time on a bevy of digital screens and satellite links. Calhualyana, watching with them, was pleased. Going into any potential peace talks, she intended to negotiate from a position of strength. Showing Xiomera's enemies that the Empire was anything but defeated would convey that message quite well.
---
As the Imperial advance began, in Chuaztlapoc, the Huenyan leadership was thrown into a panic. Having been confident that Imperial forces were broken after their retreat, the sudden surge in Xiomeran strength came as an utter shock. The new commander of the Huenyan military, the recently promoted General Tlanexchel, rapidly ordered Huenyan forces to retreat to their original positions in Zapotlán.
As Huenyan forces tried to avoid disaster and fall back on Zapotlán, Imperial forces continued their implacable advance westwards.
30 miles east of Zapotlán
The Xiomeran Imperial Army was on a mission.
Having been beaten back at Zapotlán, and embarrassed in western Huenya, the Army's morale had plummeted. But after Xochiuhue's removal, and Calhualyana's ascension to power, the Imperial Army had regained its composure. It had also discovered a new motivator - wounded pride. The reputation of the Imperial military, previously seen as a dangerous foe, had taken a serious hit. They were determined to prove themselves again.
They also had allies. Iskirami soldiers would be joining them on the front lines, in support of Calhualyana and her bid to preserve the Empire.
Even as Calhualyana talked peace, she had prepared for war. She had summed it up very simply to her frontline commanders, in a speech she gave them on the evening of November 5th. "If the people to the west of us want no part of the Empire anymore, so be it. We want no part of them either. But this army camped east of Zapotlán occupies Xiomeran land. They occupy one of our cities. They control our canal. This is not Necatli land, or Itotemoc land, or Tepiltzin land, that they occupy. It is Xiomeran land and it always has been. And we will take it back," she had declared.
Accordingly, during the lull in fighting that had occurred after the fall of Zapotlán and the retreat from what was now Huenya, the Imperial Army had quietly prepared and planned. Now, it was the time for the eagles of Xiomera to strike again.
In the early morning hours of November 6th, the previously silent front line east of Zapotlán erupted. Missiles, accompanied by a full-scale artillery bombardment, blasted Huenyan positions along the entire front line. In their wake, the Imperial Army began its assault. Several mechanized divisions of the Imperial Army, previously based in Tlālacuetztla and among the Empire's best, slammed into the Huenyan lines like a sledgehammer. Completely unprepared for the Imperial assault, the Huenyan lines began to break, and Imperial units were soon on a headlong march towards the Intra-Xiomera Canal and Zapotlán. Their orders were simple: push the Huenyan and allied forces back out of Zapotlán and past the Intra-Xiomera Canal into Huenyan territory, and re-establish the front line at a point 20 miles west of Zapotlán, where the historic border between Xiomera and the Tepiltzin lands lay.
In Tlālacuetztla, the General Staff, led by General Zinahue, watched the advance unfolding in real-time on a bevy of digital screens and satellite links. Calhualyana, watching with them, was pleased. Going into any potential peace talks, she intended to negotiate from a position of strength. Showing Xiomera's enemies that the Empire was anything but defeated would convey that message quite well.
---
As the Imperial advance began, in Chuaztlapoc, the Huenyan leadership was thrown into a panic. Having been confident that Imperial forces were broken after their retreat, the sudden surge in Xiomeran strength came as an utter shock. The new commander of the Huenyan military, the recently promoted General Tlanexchel, rapidly ordered Huenyan forces to retreat to their original positions in Zapotlán.
As Huenyan forces tried to avoid disaster and fall back on Zapotlán, Imperial forces continued their implacable advance westwards.
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