Tyranny of Steel

Sergeant Major Lach Graf von Wickten had spared no time to prepare for his last mission. He bade farewell to his family, who had no idea that this was the last time they would see him, before departing on a plane for the Island of Borneo.      

During the journey, Lach and his unit of terminally ill soldiers were informed that their task would be a simple one. Their objective was to bait the Imperial Japanese Army into attacking their unit. How they would do this was a rather simple method.      

According to the treaty between Germany and Japan, the Reich was prohibited from playing an active role in the conflict, and was not allowed to fly above the island of Borneo. However, they were permitted to provide non-combative support to the Majapahit Empire, which was exactly how Lach and his men would provoke the Imperial Japanese Army into attacking them.      

When Lach and his unit arrived on the island of Borneo, they were given Majapahit camouflage pattern uniforms to wear for their operation. However, there were a few minor distinctions between these fatigues and the ones that their allies wore.     

In fact, these garments had German markings, which were hard to notice as their color was an olive drab green, which blended in with the uniform fairly well. After applying camouflaged paint to their faces and forearms, the German soldiers grabbed hold of their G27 semi-automatic rifles and hiked it to the front lines of the conflict, which were rapidly collapsing to the Japanese invasion force.      

Lach and his men eventually made their way towards the brush, where they began to survey the area. They could see a Japanese infantry brigade marching through the Jungle roughly a five hundred meters out, which they began to report via their radio operator back to the rear lines.      

At first, the Japanese did not spot the Germans and continued marching closer and closer to their position. But when Lach intentionally shifted his position, a soldier about fifty yards away spotted his movement, and did not hesitate to open fire on the German position.      

There was barely a squad's worth of men selected for this operation, and once they had been fired upon by one soldier, a hundred more shot at thier location. Though they knew their duty was to die on this mission, they took cover and returned fire, hoping to at least bring down enough of the enemy to bring honor to Kaiser and Fatherland.      

Lach aimed down the iron sights of his semiautomatic rifle, and pulled the trigger, instantly sending an 8mm projectile downrange and into the torso of the enemy. The Japanese soldiers had not even noticed who the Germans actually were and continued to fire on their position.      

One by one, the German soldiers fell to bullets and mortar fire alike. After all, they were facing down thousands of soldiers who were rushing to their position, and there were only ten of them to begin with. Still, they managed to take roughly a company's worth of the Japanese.      

In the end, Lach was all alone. Knowing that his death was near, he pulled out one of his grenades and stood up to throw it towards a nearby enemy. He shouted with every inch of his strength his battle cry before tossing the grenade into the air.      

"For Kaiser and Fatherland!"     

As the grenade flew through the air, a burst of bullets tore through his chest, causing him to fall back onto the muddied floor, spreadeagled, with his rifle in one hand. As Lach took his last breath, he could have sworn that he saw a platinum haired winged beauty swooping down towards him with her hand stretched out. In the next moment, the life faded from the Sergeant Major's eyes, and the Japanese surrounded the corpses of the slain reconnaissance team.      

It was only after they had carefully observed the corpses, did the Japanese soldiers realize just how much they had fucked up. Contrary to what they thought, these were not Majapahit soldiers. their features were far too angular, refined, and regal. While the markings on their uniforms were different than what the Japanese had encountered before.     

Despite the obvious european features, the enlisted personnel of the Imperial Japanese Army still didn't recognize who they had killed. It took an officer's examination to realize that they had violated the treaty and slain a German support unit. A look of fear emerged on the Officer's face, as he left the scene with panic in his eyes. He quickly approached the nearest comms officer and gave him a command.      

"Report back to base. The treaty has been violated, and war is now inevitable."      

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Due to the advanced nature of German communications, the death of Sergeant Major Lach Graf von Wickten, and his reconnaissance unit, was immediately reported to German High Command, far before Itami was able to learn of this development.      

The immediate response by Berengar was to send a team of Sturmkommandos to retrieve the bodies of the fallen. Meanwhile, he took to a public broadcast which was echoed across the entirety of the Reich, including the colonies that were spread across the world.      

Unlike his usual public appearances, Berengar did not wear his imperial regalia, instead he wore his military uniform, which was a telltale sign to anyone with a brain that the Kaiser was about to declare war. Berengar's brows were furrowed, and his expression was furious as he took to the mic and made his declaration.      

"My people, I am speaking to you from the War Room of the Department of Defense within our Imperial Capital. In the early hours of this morning, while our nation slept at peace, the young men performing their duties as per the existing treaty between Germany and Japan came under a sudden and unprovoked attack.     

This attack was in direct violation of our recently brokered treaty and sought to cut us off from two of our major trading partners whose trade Japan seeks to monopolize for itself. I regret to inform you that several German lives have been lost as a consequence. One of which was none other than Sergeant Major Lach Graf von Wickten who as you all know is among the Reich's most decorated war heroes.     

When I first learned that there existed another nation half a world away that had learned to harness the power of steam, my attitude was that of cautious optimism. I had hoped that we would find another enlightened nation who sought to use their industrial strength as a keeper of global peace.     

But since the very beginning, the Empire of Japan took up a belligerent position against us, and readily supplied any brutal warlord who agreed to oppose German interests. Empress Itami, in her bid to gain resources and personal glory, invaded her peaceful and unsuspecting neighbors, enslaved their people, and made trivialities of the most basic human rights.     

The wealth she gained from her conquest was fed into her military, while her people remained little more than illiterate peasants. This Empress of Japan builds legions, but does not build a nation. A nation is created by families, a religion, traditions; it is made up out of the hearts of mothers, the wisdom of fathers, the joy and exuberance of children.     

A nation is made of poets and musicians; of artists and scholars; of workers and soldiers. What we found over there, on an island chain in the far east, was an all-consuming state, disdainful of human dignities, ruled by hysterics and fanatics worshipping their leader as a Goddess of War.     

And the woman herself, who alone embodies this state, sits upon a stolen throne, alone, without family, without children, without a dynasty to conserve, or a past to consult, sacrificing her nation's boys by the tens of thousands every month to maintain an image of invincibility. And now she has turned her sights towards Germany.     

This attack undoubtably comes as a warning. A warning that we should stay away from the oceans of Asia, and not interfere within Japan's sphere of influence. And should this warning have been sent via a diplomatic emissary, I would have opened a dialogue with the Empress to come to a peaceful resolution.     

But by attacking German men dressed in the uniforms of our Armed Forces while our two nations were at peace, the Empire of Japan has made a deliberate and treacherous attack on our freedom, our prosperity, and most importantly, our people.      

We will not be bullied by a second-rate power who thinks they know how to conduct modern warfare just because they have access to modern weapons. No, they do not understand war like we do. War is something that is deeply embedded within the blood of every German and our whole nation will remember the character of this onslaught against us.     

In a way, conflict was inevitable against this belligerent, impulsive, and unruly state, who does not understand modern politics or diplomacy, nor do they even seek to learn how to conduct it. The Japanese Empire, in its current form, cannot coexist with Germany, and by dismantling them now, we save our children the fate of a far bloodier and vicious war in the future.     

So, brave men of Germany, the time has come to take up arms once more, and vanquish this new threat that seeks to harm the health and prosperity of our families, our children, and our beloved fatherland.     

I hereby declare that since the moment of this unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on the early hours of Sunday, August 6 1432, a state of war now exists between the German Empire and the Empire of Japan.     

I announce that Germany will enter military alliances with The Majapahit Empire and the Joseon Kingdom, both of whom are currently engaged in a bloody conflict against Japan to maintain their people's freedom, and together, we will chase the Japanese back to their islands and impress upon them the idea that they should not ever venture out from there again.     

I believe that I interpret the will of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the German people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.     

With confidence in our armed forces — with the unbending determination of our people — we will gain the inevitable triumph. God With Us."     

Upon concluding this declaration of war, thunderous applause echoed all across the Reich with repeated shouts of a single word. War! War! War! War! The German people had been fighting primitive savages on the frontiers for too long. The repeated setbacks in their negotiations with Japan had created a bloodlust like no other, and with the death of one of the greatest war heroes of the reich, this fury had reached the boiling point.      

Immediately after making this announcement, Berengar deployed all forces located within the Indian and Pacific Oceans to converge on the Japanese Empire. The German Empire was now officially at war. A war that the Germans would not stop waging until the very foundations that Itami had built were burnt to ashes.     

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