The Battle of Sandusky Bay

On the 20th of September, 2027, two Marì battalions landed on the south bank of Sandusky Bay, Ohio. These two battalion were the 427th Rifles Battalion and the 192nd Amphibious Battalion. Totaling nearly 2,000 men, this invasion contingent represented a sizable portion of the Marì's military presence in western Ohio.
The plan of the attack was to seize the city of Sandusky in no less than a week. Heavy resistance was expected near the city. Local Ohio Army National Guard units had been reinforced by U.S. Army Reserves from eastern Ohio. Enemy forces were thought to be roughly equivalent to Marì forces. The Edison Bridge which connected both sides of the Bay had been destroyed, so the only effective way for the Marì to deliver supplies and reinforcements into the combat zone was by sea. Amphibious insertions call for a very specific kind of combat unit, so the 427th and the 192nd went into their mission knowing that reinforcements would be unlikely.

Men of the 427th Rifles landing on the shore of Sandusky Bay.
The landmass in the background is known as "the Bogs".

The initial landings went smoothly, with no casualties or resistance of any kind. Colonel Glhoûn, the officer in command of the Sandusky contingent, suspected that the American forces were laying in wait on the outskirts of Sandusky, where they would have a defensive advantage.
A makeshift base of operations was established in the small town of Bay Harbour. Glhoûn planned to use the Marì's trademark tactic; using America's infrastructure against itself. As Marì forces pushed east towards Sandusky, ammunition and rations could be delivered via U.S. Route 6.

A rifleman of the 192nd sprints for cover during a firefight with American
reserves north of Castalia, OH.

There were several skirmishes along Route 6 during the advance on Sandusky, but by the 22nd, Marì forces had reached the freeway interchange that marked the boundary of Sandusky. It was in the city that the Marì met much heavier resistance. Seventeen men were lost attempting to cross a 400m span of open space which connected the interchange to a local elementary school. It took three separate mortar shellings over a 12-hour period to finally flush out the American defenders and open a window large enough for Talossan forces to enter the city.

From here, the Sandusky contingent split into the 427th and 192nd Battalions again, with units being tasked to patrol the eastern outskirts of Sandusky, while others fought through a loosely bound array of suburban blocks and lone warehouses. It was east of Mills St that Glhoûn realized he would need more men. On the 25th of September, Marì command deployed reinforcements for the Sandusky contingent. 350 paratroopers of the 16th Airborne Regiment dropped into the suburban chaos and a mechanizes infantry troop was dispatched from Toledo.

The battle soon descended into a slow back-and-forth of house-by-house combat. It took the Sandusky contingent another week to secure Columbus Avenue and another fortnight to drive the remainder of the Army National Guard out of Sandusky. On the 16th of October, Sandusky was declared a city under Talossan occupation.

Occupational Survival Guide Part I Cont'd

How their occupation works

The Marì's commanders were ingenious in their invasion of America. While most people would think that the occupation relies on the control of major city centres such as Abbavilla, Cicavo or Detroit, the reality is that the most important footholds of the occupation are the smaller rural cities and towns. From these conduits, the Marì can control huge tracts of agricultural land and they produce that comes from them. This level of control would be impossible to establish from the major metropolitan areas. In fact, only about 25% of tamorans are ever assigned to major urban areas. Most go straight to the countryside, to smaller rural cities.

Marì infantry on MOUT training in the Joliet Army Training Area.

These influential country towns were taken so swiftly due to the Marì's easy access to America's interstate freeway system. By controlling the major veins of the American economy and the reserve military infrastructure, the Marì was able to quickly move men and materiel from one place to another, while also denying the Army Reserves and National Guard that same right.

The idea of the invasion was to take the Interstate and the cities that were situated on their paths, then break divisions into their smaller units -armored columns and infantry brigades/battalions- and send them out along the smaller highways, then establish bases and patrol along state routes. The plan completely defeated the need for navigational training. An officer could tell his men, "Travel this way down the road with the blue and red 57 sign."

The quick distribution of munitions from the Joliet Ammunition Factory is testament to the effectiveness of this system. An ammunition shipment headed for Peoria would head south along the I-55 then north-west along the I-74. This is a guarded route, and the risk of ambush is literally non-existent.

Soldiers of the Talossan-Polish Joint Training Program, 2029.

How they operate

The Marì's countryside patrols all originate from small outposts and bases. A typical outpost can house anywhere from 10 to 200 men, and some are also home to armored vehicles. The idea behind this tactic is twofold. First of all, the sheer number of bases greatly minimizes the risks that have to be taken by the Marì and ensure that if a unit is attacked, reinforcements are never very far away. This tactic also works to isolate would-be guerrillas and freedom fighters. While there will always be resistance in the countryside and in regions far from Abbavilla such as the Talossan-controlled portion of New York or Pennsylvania, the Marì's bases and outposts help to ensure that these dissidents can never properly create links with one another.
Since resistance movements can never gain the critical mass necessary to establish a defensible base, they remain small and easily contained. Properties are raided on a daily basis in searches for contraband like weapons, ammunition, bomb-making materials, communications equipment or "undesirable" literature.

Occupational Survival Guide Part I

Occupational Survival Guide

Part I: El Marì

El Marì, which literally means "the navy" in Talossan, is the collective armed forces of the Kingdom of Talossa. There are currently four service branches of the Marì. Firstly, there is the Marì itself, which is technically a naval force, but as Talossa is, at current, a landlocked country between the United States and Canada, most of the Marì serve either as seaman patrolling the Great Lakes or as a land force guarding Talossa or fighting the ever-dwindling war on the eastern front.
Then there are the Marineux (officially the Corpüs da Marineux), which are almost identical in function to the U.S. Marine Corps. They are the most robust of Talossa's forces and the most well-trained. Their training programs take heavily after their American forerunners and their recruiting is far more selective than that of the Marì or any other branch thereof. The Marineux are typically entrusted with missions of very high importance to the war effort.
The Marì's air force, the Forziun da Luc'ht, is still undeveloped in comparison with other militaries of the western world, with most of its aircraft being either stolen from occupied air bases or bought cheaply from allies whose air forces have no place to discard said aircraft.
Finally, there is the Lándfierd, a popular militia that can be rallied whenever needed to quell some rebellion or other. They are a shabby force of somewhere from 100,000 to 250,000 volunteers spread throughout Talossa. Of all the Marì's service branches, the Lándfierd is the least selective and, unsurprisingly, the least effective, their only real advantage being their numbers.

Marì reservists on maneuvers near the Auglaize River, east of Paulding, OH.

Dealing with the Marì

The branch of the Marì which most significantly affects the average Talossan/American/Cestour is the Occupational Police, often shortened to O.P. or T.G., which stands for the Talossan Terguard del Garnamaintsch. Officers of the Occupational Police can be identified by their light blue berets and/or unit patches seen on their sleeves. They are colloquially referred to as tamorans (literally "warrior").

By now, almost all soldiers of the Marì can speak fluent or semi-fluent Talossan, so when dealing with the Marì, a decent knowledge of el Glhetg is essential. Most tamorans are courteous enough, but occupational police detail is boring and poorly-paid work, so do not be surprised if some soldiers are curt or even abusive. There are countless stories of the abuse of both Talossans and Americans living in the border regions of Talossa, and even worse from the Rochester DMZ. Unfortunately, many of these stories are true, and the disgruntled tamorans in the borderlands know perfectly well that they can, quite literally, get away with murder.

In any case, for those who speak little Talossan, there is not much else you can do besides learn the language. In the case of a search of premises, which are quite common in the countryside, these two phrases can be very helpful.

Éu non sint 'n Cestourat, mas éu non parladréu Talossan.

"I am not a Cestourat, but I might not speak Talossan."
This phrase can be hit and miss, as some tamorans find it humorous, while others may take it as an invitation to label you as a Cestourat.

Éu ladintschiçéu.

"I am learning and using Talossan."
This phrase is something of a mouthful, but is very useful for showing any tamorans that you are assimilating and learning the language, as well as to persuade them to speak slower for your convenience.

Marineux on patrol in southern Michigan. Note the crimson berets.

Joke of the Week

Three men sit imprisoned in PIG headquarters. The first man asks the second why he is in prison. The second man replies, "I spoke out against Éovart Andrinescù."
The first man is shocked, and says, "But I spoke out in favour of Éovart Andrinescù!"
He asks the third man why he is in prison. The third man looks up sadly and says, "I'm Éovart Andrinescù."

Important Notice

Hello to all Talossa 2031 readers! Unfortunately, right now I am getting a little bogged down in schoolwork, studying for my yearly exams, and some other personal matters which I am working through. So, while I definitely plan to continue work on Talossa 2031 and while I am definitely not shutting down the blog, I will have to put the blog on hiatus for a short time until I get my studies back on track. I also plan on pre-writing a few more posts for the future so that I won't lag behind in terms of content generation.
So anyway, thanks again for all your support and I look forward to seeing you all soon on Witt.
¡Restetz cumpetens, Talossans!

"Where are our royals?", July 2025

from el Cuszorxha Sürligna, 10 July 2025

The Talossan royal family has vanished this week in a maelstrom of political confusion and subterfuge. It seems as though no one knows where they are, or why they have disappeared, but many theories have already surfaced. Peculiarists blame the government, saying that their disappearance is part of a Byzantine conspiracy to drive Talossa to war with America. Government officials are keeping silent, but one Cuszorxha source, a PIG agent who chose to remain anonymous, said that the PIG suspect that the CIA was involved in the kidnap "as they have been involved in so many other countries' politics before".
A federal investigation is currently underway. El Cuszorxha will stay with this story as more information comes to light.

"Is Talossa headed for war?", June 2025

Author's Note: Very sorry about the delay. After some deliberation, I decided to skip ahead to mid-2025, where the tension really starts to build. Anyway, I plan on publishing more content more quickly in the coming few weeks to compensate for my recent slackness. Thanks again for reading Talossa 2031!

from the Independent Thinker, an Abbavilla-based peculiarist publication. Written by Skye Johnson
Is ár päts heading down the warpath against its will? Short answer: a resounding üc, brothers and sisters. Once again, the ZRT-controlled faux dictatorship have proven themselves not to be defenders of this nation, but attackers, striking at the hearts and minds of the Talossan people! You've seen it yourself, in the propaganda and in their speeches, commanding that you bow down to the idea of a Talossa that is no better than the broken capitalist system we so gloriously seceded from all those years ago, before 2020. And now we have concrete evidence that the Marì, who we thought were charged with protecting us, is planned on being deployed inside the United States of America rather than stay and defend where they are needed most!
The story was, unsurprisingly, not covered by the government-controlled mainstream media, but through independent sources who cannot be named for the sake of their safety, we have obtained a series of communiqués to and from the Canadian government, discussing the possibility of the sales of surplus arms, vehicles and other equipment from their government to ours. The latest of these messages we have intercepted was marked as being sent early last month, confirming a transaction of a billion Canadian dollars worth of small arms, artillery, uniforms, body armor and vehicles of all varieties, from jeeps to battle tanks. Where is our government getting this money? I'll tell you where. The Chinese. China has funded over a billion Louis worth of industrial, agricultural and financial stimulations over the past two years, and probably plans to do more than stimulate the coming war effort. They'll do anything to see America crash and burn.
All of this is solid evidence of a coming war. The arms sales, the aggressive and authoritarian policy-pushing of the ZRT and the sharp increase in Marì enlistments in the past months. We do not know where the Marì will strike, but just the fact that they will strike in inorganic in itself. Apart from all the other Covenants from Article 19 of the Organic Law that have been violated by the government, one stands out among them. Covenant 6. It states as follows: "Liberty consists of any action which is not detrimental to others, and no right herein enumerated, or elsewhere recognised by the Cosâ, shall extend to anyone engaged in activities which injure, endanger, risk or compromise the physical health, privacy, or tranquility of other persons through the pretended exercise of said right."
An invasion is not liberty. By being citizens of a nation that preaches peace while waging war, do we simultaneously renounce our right to citizenship of this country? This coming invasion is the agent of that renunciation; it is the pretended exercise of the right.
Think back to our forefathers, from before Talossa became a "real" country. Is this what any of them would have wanted for Talossa? This is derivatism taken too far. Talossa is unlike any other country because we have the capacity for greatness, to be a shining beacon of hope and morality in a hopeless and immoral world. It is our calling, as was the calling of Schneider and all the great Peculiarists who preceded him.

DOWN WITH ZRT!

CIA briefing, June 2024

CIA briefing, 3rd June, 2024
This briefing focuses on two individuals wanted by Talossa for "acts of terror".

'Do we have a name?' asked Agent Carter.
'Yes. Yes we do.' replied Agent Salvi. He laid a wad of photos and documents on the table and clicked a slide on the laptop, which was connected to a projector. Images of incidents, crime scenes, old photos and suspected associates cycled on and off the screen.
'Lionel Milligan. He's got a number of aliases, but his most used is Léuneu Montäna, or just Léun for short.' explained Salvi. He pointed to a blurred picture of Léun carrying a suitcase away from a small hotel in Abbavilla.
'What did he do?' asked Carter.
'He's been accused of a number of crimes, from murder to conspiracy to terrorism. We don't know how much of this is true, but what we do know is that he's offing Talossan politicians in record numbers. He's killed three ZRT officials last month alone. As you can see, he's got a pretty distinctive profile. He looks nothing like Jean Reno, but he's clearly got a thing for Léon: The Professional. Wool cap, round sunglasses, trench coat.'
'What?' asked another agent, not understanding the reference.
'Léon: The Professional, it's a movie.' said Salvi. He sighed and continued. 'Never mind. We know that he has contacted or been contacted by 3 of Diamonds. We're not sure who started the conversation, but our monitoring system got a bunch of red flags on a certain call made between two individuals inside of Talossa, exactly eight days ago. They talked in Talossan, and what little we could translate wasn't anything suspect, but they were most likely speaking in some kind of code.'
'Who's 3 of Diamonds?' asked Carter. Salvi opened a new slideshow.
'His full official name is Davíu Éovart Andrinescu. He also goes by his nickname Éoväd.' said Salvi, retrieving the 3 of Diamonds to show it to the other agents present. Éovart's picture was hardly flattering.
'So what do we do about it? You think these guys can be turned?' asked Carter.
'Léun, maybe. But Éovart? No way. He's a crazed patriot. He's writing this book that's turned a few heads in Talossan politics. Léun gets a mention in it too. Apparently the PIG wants Éovart silenced but he won't budge, insisting he's just trying to help Talossa. We still haven't figured out Léun yet. He's unpredictable. He might kill three people one month and then go completely off the grid the next. We'll have to watch him.'