The invasion of Bem had gone on quite smoothly. With the capital already under American control and the king dead, the governors of the various Bem provinces have sent negotiators. In addition, cruise missiles have also done their jobs. Major forts that were housing tens of thousands of Bem soldiers had been wiped out at the beginning of the invasion. With less than 100,000 soldiers spread out across the continent, the governors knew that the only way to save themselves is through negotiations. Through the message sent by the Americans, they understood that the Americans just wanted to “replace the government.” If they could curry favor with these Americans, they might hopefully be able to become the next king.

2122 October 8th, 2019 CE

0141 (New Hour) End 9th, 195 AE

In a FOB (Forward Operating Base) outside of Aginport

“Hey, Staff Sergeant, is this over already.”

“Just the political shit now.”

“You think we gonna get deployed to whatever that Imperium place is?”

“What else are they gonna deploy, private?”

Nick stamped out the cigarette butt after he threw it to the ground and walked away. Leaving Brian behind who was leaning on the tank.

Aginport has been completely occupied by American soldiers. There was minimal damage because of the lack of resistance and the fact that the cruise missiles only targeted political and military valuable targets. Since the capital also served as the political center of this province, the entire province was politically under American control.

0630 (Mid Hour) End 11th, 195 AE

Near the center of the Mach Imperium

A passenger steam train sped down the tracks. Inside the train on one of the seats, a soldier is penning a letter.

Dear mother,

I hope you forgive me for not writing back to the various mail you have sent me. The trenches are not a comfortable place so I have rarely gotten the chance to sit down and write to you. I enjoyed reading the mails and I’m glad to hear that Aurora has been engaged. Tell her congratulations and that her older brother will be back soon. I hope that father and everyone else in the village is well. Mother, you do not have to worry about me. I’m currently being redeployed to the eastern beaches. I have always wanted to visit the beaches, I hope to enjoy my stay there. The trenches on the front were not the nicest places to be so I would probably enjoy this change. I hope you well and I will write again once I have more time.

Love, your son, Furius.

Laughter can be heard in the other seats of the train as soldiers talked amongst themselves. Being on a train is a nice experience after being in the trenches for so long. Furius’s friend, Mercator looked over his shoulder.

“A letter to your mother?”

“Yeah.” Furius slips the letter inside in his bag.

“Nervous?”

“Well somewhat. Who wouldn’t? I heard that a third of the Navy is destroyed and the Bem has been defeated.”

“Furius, there’s nothing to worry about. The Emperor is calling for people to join the army for the defense of the Empire. There should about an extra million ready men by the end of the season. The enemy can’t stop us all. I heard that they are even constructing trenches and bunkers near the beaches. There are also rumors that the generals are thinking about pulling the landships out of retirement”

“Industro Is? I thought we had hundreds of Industro IIs. Why do we need Industro Is?”

“There’s more armaments on them. I heard they are gonna be used like mobile bunkers. From what I heard, the enemy we will be facing is well-armed. We are gonna need those extra Industros.”

“Our enemy’s navy must be very good to be able to easily squash ours.”

Mercator snickered.

“Our Navy has been on their high horses for too long. About time someone knocked them off.”

“Mercator, the Navy is an integral part of our Imperium’s defense. Without our Navy, couldn’t the enemy just bombard our positions?”

“Heard that there is also the construction of naval fortifications with that in mind.”

Furius wasn’t keen on the idea of using naval forts.

“Isn’t that a strategy of those Magusians?”

“It works for them. Why not use it.”

“I hope we don’t get positioned there. Rather not face the bombardment of a navy that can rival ours.”

“Eh, don’t worry. I heard that the recruits are going there. We are most likely going to the second line of defense. I think the Emperor doesn’t want to waste experienced soldiers if the recruits can stop them. Their navy might be good but that might not be true for their army. They are from a continent with no other adversaries. Maybe their navy is better since they are surrounded by the ocean. As I said, they can’t stop us all. The size of our army would be similar to the invasion force we amassed in the last war about the Magus.”

At that time, 500,000 Machian soldiers are being transported like Furius and Mercator. 125,000 from the Mach-Magus front and the rest are the ones based around the country. Industro IIs, Industro Is, and artillery pieces can be seen on trains across the country as they race towards the same location. Across the Imperium, men are eagerly signing up for a chance to experience the glory of war. Rarely in history had the Mach Imperium called upon civilians for war. They had always had a huge and well-trained standing army against the Magus Imperium. Men were not interested in joining the army in peacetime because they have heard of the boredom of the trenches. Since there was no actual war occurring, the army was mostly guarding the border with the Magus. Now, they had a chance to experience the glory of war without the need to wait or train.

2000 October 12th, 2019 CE

Tampa, Florida

“Mr.President, Operation Rising Eagle is a complete success. We will be proceeding forward with Operation Diving Eagle.”

“That’s good to hear General.”

General Thompson put down the phone and sighed. Out of all the things that had to be done for Operation Rising Eagle, the main thing, the invasion, was the easiest. The logistics and political parts are the hardest.

The logistics seem to be mostly solved at this point. The Military Sealift Command is now sending supplies to Bem. An airfield near Aginport is under hasty construction to bring in supplies by plane and add air support from the Air Force for the upcoming Operation Diving Eagle. It would require a month. Of course, this gave the enemy time to prepare their defenses. If they were facing modern foes, it wouldn’t make sense to give the enemy time. General George S. Patton said, “A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.” For example, the Nazis gave the Soviets time before the Battle of Kursk when the Nazis decided to delay their offensive to build up tanks. This led to a Soviet victory. However, the Nazis were facing an opponent who was equal to them. The United States now faced an enemy woefully unprepared for modern warfare. That difference nulled any way for the Machians to gain an advantage by being more prepared. It actually might even help the United States. If they could wipe out the well prepared Machian defense within days, then the morale of the Machians will plummet.

Now the only issue was political. Who will replace the Bem king? It is obvious that the various governors of Bem want the title. Each came to Aginport with negotiators who brought gifts. On the plus side, none of the governors are acting hostile. They have all agreed to surrender and listen to the United States. Because the missile strike targets were only the Kingdom Palace and various military installations, the political structure of the Bem kingdom is mostly intact. In order to take advantage of this, the United States decided to keep things as is. The governors will still be governors. They have been warned that their fate will be similar to the king if they step out of line. The only change would be that the United States government has replaced the king. That will only last until after the war with the Machians is finished. The best course of action afterward would be finding a suitable puppet. They needed someone who will listen to the United States and also be accepted by the Bem. This decision will come in the future.

0711 End 11th, 195 AE

Primopolis, Septentrio Magus Imperium, Domum (Imperatoria) Continent

Emperor Arstant faced his group of advisors and Robert.

“I believe we should launch an invasion of the Machians to coincide with the Americans. We can regain the land we lost in the last war.”

The Fourth Mach-Magus War which occurred 35 years ago started when the Machians launched an all-out surprise assault. The Machians were able to push through about 400 miles of land before being stopped. Then the Magusian counterattack was able to regain 200 miles. This led to the end of that war since both sides were exhausted from fighting for almost three years.

“Your majesty, I highly oppose that decision. We are not ready to face the large Machian army. From our spies, I have heard that they are raising an even larger army.”

A few of the advisors seemingly nodded their heads in agreement with what Caius said. The Emperor was not happy.

“The Americans easily destroyed a third of the Mach Navy and defeated the Bem within a day. With their invasion coinciding with ours, we can easily take on the Mach. Why are you so opposed to this idea.”

“Defeating the Mach Navy and the Bem means nothing. The Bem has greatly inferior technology and defeating a navy does not mean superiority on land.”

Emperor Arstant narrowed his eyes.

“If you do not want to use the military, I would like to borrow it for a time.”

“Your majesty, think wisely. You have to understand that I’m trying to prevent a disaster.”

“If the Americans do win, we will never be able to regain our lost lands.”

Caius Igennus sighed.

“Your majesty, how about this? We could wait until the Americans strike before launching our invasion. If the American invasion starts successfully, then we can attack. If not, then I was right.”

0430 November 11th, 2019 CE

0515 (Early Hour) End 42nd, 195 AE

What was once a large open field 20 miles out of Aginport has now turned into a small airfield. The airstrip is long but the rest of the airbase is lacking. However, all necessities required for the Air Force to operate there is present. In the future, more facilities will be added but it currently has enough to support what the United States is going to need for Operation Diving Eagle.

A Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is the first plane to land on the airstrip. With the help of aerial refueling from KC-135 Stratotankers, aircraft are able to make the trip from the United States to Bem. Of course, that means the planes could also directly fly to and bomb Mach without the need for a stop at Bem. However, rearmament would have been a major issue and it wasn’t logistically sound.