Post by Ladorak on Sept 2, 2009 13:12:36 GMT -5
Chaos is erupting in the streets of Cosnair today as reports of Ferdinand's invasion and his army's progress has spread. Duke Ferdinand, having invaded Rosferia late last month, made slow progress and captured the border fortress of Longwy after a very short bombardment. Rumors that royalist officers betrayed the garrison to Gradvar's attack have not been substantiated, but it is clear the swift surrender of Longwy has contributed to the events of today, as have other things.
One of those was the arrival of Duke Ferdinand and King Frederick II today at the fortress of Dumont, which has traditionally barred the road to Cosnair from Gradvar. Ferdinand had captured this vital post earlier on in the year, and so far the Rosferian military, slowly building itself back up after the upheaval of the Revolution, had not been able to make a move against it. Ferdinand's army of 45,000 has arrived at Dumont today, and is beginning to make preparations to continue it's advance to Cosnair. To counter this, orders of have gone out for General Duross to unite the Army of the North with General Kellerman's Army of the Center, and block the road to the Rosferian capital. Duross has been running his army through intense drills and mock battles, trying to get them up to par with the highly trained Gradvar army before engaging them in battle.
It is unknown how long Ferdinand will remain at Dumont, but word is he is trying to resist the advance for as long as possible until he can build up a sizable base at Dumont and not have to worry about a supply line stretching all the way back into Gradvar. King Frederick of Gradvar however, is continuously pressing Ferdinand to advance, as he feels the life of Augustine is in danger and that the leopard and his family must be rescued as soon as possible. Still...the fact does remain that over both Dumont and Longwy fly the flags of the Kingdom of Gradvar and not Rosferia, and thus the motives of Frederick for assisting Augustine are being brought into question by most of the populace of Rosferia. Does Frederick hope to gain territorial concessions from Rosferia for his assistance?
The answer to this, says Minister of Justice Otto Kurtz, is yes. Just look at the arrangement that Gradvar worked out with Kostritz before their invasion, he says. Kostritz promised not to interfere in Gradvar taking Kradowska lands if Kostritz could get any lands that Gradvar conquers from Rosferia. It seems straight cut, says the otter Minister of Justice. He delivered a speech today, imploring all citizens of Cosnair who bear arms to join the military and march out to meet Gradvar's invasion and turn them back into their own country. Part of his eloquent address has been reprinted for our readers' benefit.
It is a satisfaction for the minister of a free state to announce to them that their country is saved. All are stirred, all are enthusiastic, all burn to enter the contest...One part of our people will guard our frontiers, another will dig and arm the entrenchments, the third, with pikes, will defend the interior of our cities....We ask that anyone refusing to give personal service, or to furnish arms, shall meet with punishment of death....The tocsin we shall sound is not the alarm signal of danger, it orders the charge on the enemies of Rosferia. To conquer we have to dare, to dare again, always to dare....and Rosferia is saved!
It was a grandiose speech addressed not just to the Assembly but to the nation as well. He called for all able bodied jacks to take up arms and many thousands have answered his call. However, a bit of a backfire was encountered as well. As these groups gathered to volunteer, a sort of hysteria was whipped up by the assemblage. What of their wives and children in their homes? The prisons of Cosnair are overflowing with royalist prisoners who might try and make a go at their undefended homes and families.
In order to prevent such an occurrence, the crowd decided to get these prisoners first and ensure no such domestic threats would exist to their homesteads after they departed for the front. Choosing Abbey Prison as their primary target, due to the fact that it holds a large number of royalist prisoners within it's walls, the crowd descended upon the ancient monastery and attacked several carriages carrying transferred prisoners up to the gates. The guards joined in on the raucous, and the gates were breached. Prisoners were summarily executed on the spot, and those who were wrongfully imprisoned were set free into the streets, whereas those known to be traitors or royalists were dealt with in the severest of manners.
Targets included many of the former Scarlet Guard, held in Abbey and awaiting an uncertain future. One, a Captain Noel Telious, had been interested in perhaps providing them with mass employment in the Navy, and Minister of Justice Kurtz was supposedly interested in this idea, but many of them are now in mortal danger (or dead) as they have been dragged out of their cells and "put down" in the streets. Major Karl von Bachmann, the mongoose commander of said unit, is reported as alive and well. He was undergoing trial today (in which he refused to recognize the legitimacy of the court trying him) when the rioters broke in. The judge managed to get them out of the courtroom and the mongoose's trail continued uninterrupted.
Minister of Justice Kurtz has his paws full trying to deal with this. The police force was in the process of being reorganized by the otter in order to eliminate many members of the old regime, and now he finds himself hard pressed to do anything about these riots. More prisons are planned to be hit in the next few days and Minister Kurtz has commented that perhaps with the current state of affairs it's best for the populace to vent their rage, though it is known he's working on plans to get weapons out of the paws of the citizens and back into the Arsenal where they belong. Doing so right away might prove difficult, due to the aforementioned weakened state of the police force.
The chaos is expected to continue for at least a few days more, and we shall, as always, keep you apprised of the situation....
One of those was the arrival of Duke Ferdinand and King Frederick II today at the fortress of Dumont, which has traditionally barred the road to Cosnair from Gradvar. Ferdinand had captured this vital post earlier on in the year, and so far the Rosferian military, slowly building itself back up after the upheaval of the Revolution, had not been able to make a move against it. Ferdinand's army of 45,000 has arrived at Dumont today, and is beginning to make preparations to continue it's advance to Cosnair. To counter this, orders of have gone out for General Duross to unite the Army of the North with General Kellerman's Army of the Center, and block the road to the Rosferian capital. Duross has been running his army through intense drills and mock battles, trying to get them up to par with the highly trained Gradvar army before engaging them in battle.
It is unknown how long Ferdinand will remain at Dumont, but word is he is trying to resist the advance for as long as possible until he can build up a sizable base at Dumont and not have to worry about a supply line stretching all the way back into Gradvar. King Frederick of Gradvar however, is continuously pressing Ferdinand to advance, as he feels the life of Augustine is in danger and that the leopard and his family must be rescued as soon as possible. Still...the fact does remain that over both Dumont and Longwy fly the flags of the Kingdom of Gradvar and not Rosferia, and thus the motives of Frederick for assisting Augustine are being brought into question by most of the populace of Rosferia. Does Frederick hope to gain territorial concessions from Rosferia for his assistance?
The answer to this, says Minister of Justice Otto Kurtz, is yes. Just look at the arrangement that Gradvar worked out with Kostritz before their invasion, he says. Kostritz promised not to interfere in Gradvar taking Kradowska lands if Kostritz could get any lands that Gradvar conquers from Rosferia. It seems straight cut, says the otter Minister of Justice. He delivered a speech today, imploring all citizens of Cosnair who bear arms to join the military and march out to meet Gradvar's invasion and turn them back into their own country. Part of his eloquent address has been reprinted for our readers' benefit.
It is a satisfaction for the minister of a free state to announce to them that their country is saved. All are stirred, all are enthusiastic, all burn to enter the contest...One part of our people will guard our frontiers, another will dig and arm the entrenchments, the third, with pikes, will defend the interior of our cities....We ask that anyone refusing to give personal service, or to furnish arms, shall meet with punishment of death....The tocsin we shall sound is not the alarm signal of danger, it orders the charge on the enemies of Rosferia. To conquer we have to dare, to dare again, always to dare....and Rosferia is saved!
It was a grandiose speech addressed not just to the Assembly but to the nation as well. He called for all able bodied jacks to take up arms and many thousands have answered his call. However, a bit of a backfire was encountered as well. As these groups gathered to volunteer, a sort of hysteria was whipped up by the assemblage. What of their wives and children in their homes? The prisons of Cosnair are overflowing with royalist prisoners who might try and make a go at their undefended homes and families.
In order to prevent such an occurrence, the crowd decided to get these prisoners first and ensure no such domestic threats would exist to their homesteads after they departed for the front. Choosing Abbey Prison as their primary target, due to the fact that it holds a large number of royalist prisoners within it's walls, the crowd descended upon the ancient monastery and attacked several carriages carrying transferred prisoners up to the gates. The guards joined in on the raucous, and the gates were breached. Prisoners were summarily executed on the spot, and those who were wrongfully imprisoned were set free into the streets, whereas those known to be traitors or royalists were dealt with in the severest of manners.
Targets included many of the former Scarlet Guard, held in Abbey and awaiting an uncertain future. One, a Captain Noel Telious, had been interested in perhaps providing them with mass employment in the Navy, and Minister of Justice Kurtz was supposedly interested in this idea, but many of them are now in mortal danger (or dead) as they have been dragged out of their cells and "put down" in the streets. Major Karl von Bachmann, the mongoose commander of said unit, is reported as alive and well. He was undergoing trial today (in which he refused to recognize the legitimacy of the court trying him) when the rioters broke in. The judge managed to get them out of the courtroom and the mongoose's trail continued uninterrupted.
Minister of Justice Kurtz has his paws full trying to deal with this. The police force was in the process of being reorganized by the otter in order to eliminate many members of the old regime, and now he finds himself hard pressed to do anything about these riots. More prisons are planned to be hit in the next few days and Minister Kurtz has commented that perhaps with the current state of affairs it's best for the populace to vent their rage, though it is known he's working on plans to get weapons out of the paws of the citizens and back into the Arsenal where they belong. Doing so right away might prove difficult, due to the aforementioned weakened state of the police force.
The chaos is expected to continue for at least a few days more, and we shall, as always, keep you apprised of the situation....
