The Basin Bulwark

In War 106, 1CIMR (then 17WMR) was established in Basin Sionnach, the Northern-most hex of Caoiva. From here, the Marines would be safely able to conduct their logistical efforts and begin providing a response force to anywhere in the nation. However, little did we know upon the opening of the conflict that such action would come to us. It came quickly, with the Colonial advance being swift. Such overwhelming numbers of enemy troops quickly enveloped our over-stretched combat forces, and as a result the rapid loss in territory was immediately felt by the Warden faction as a whole. For the Marines, it was a blistering pace in attempting to respond to so many needs on the front with such few combat forces. The rapidly evolving battle space and continual enemy breakthroughs meant such rapid deployment force actions were completely impractical. By the time the regiment had deployed to attempt to plug one breakthrough area in need, another would collapse. Shortly after the war had begun, the Colonials were already in Clanshead Valley, then on the border of Howl County. At this point, Captain Dain - lead combat engineer - had repositioned our logistical headquarters from Basinhome to Torchwood, as partisans were a monumental threat and had begun to arrive in-force. This provided a little more standoff, and his efforts also streamlined production. Immediately, work began on a massive undertaking. What was needed, and had not been completed yet on the front, was a strong defensive line that would halt the Colonial and allow for our forces to regroup. Basin Sionnach was, with its resources and facilities, completely self-sufficient. As such, Dain led a project which would be dubbed the "Basin Bulwark". From the riverside, along the Southern hex-spanning road, through to the Western road alongside Basinhome Relic where defenses were in place, a multi-layered defensive line would be constructed. In front of this line, with any remaining space, would be lines of barbed wire, tank traps, AT mines, and dragons teeth. Pre-positioned artillery would be pre-sighted on border base positions, allowing for artillery to immediately destroyed invasion forces before anything could be established. The halberds used in its construction would span two lines thick. Each bunker-base semi-isolated by a series of gate checkpoints, meaning that one breach in the line did not immediately mean that the rest would be exposed from the rear. With Flanks Manufacturing And Transport (FMAT) taking the Northern side of the river, it was here that the Wardens could withdraw and safely hold.

The Basin Bulwark spread along the entire Southern portion of Basin Sionnach. It consumed 16 scrap fields per 24 hours in maintenance supplies (MSUPS) alone, making upkeep more difficult than its construction.

At first, progress was slow. The sheer amount of resources and manpower required was seemingly impossible to achieve. Additionally, 17WMR comprised of very few Marines at this period. This being only the second war we had ever engaged in, one of those being the all-famous "break wars". Many scoffed at the idea of such a line. However, as the Collies drew closer, and fears of incursion grew, fewer scoffed, and more donated their resources and time to endless digging and upgrade efforts. Being such a key logisitical hex, and with the Southern road so well travelled, at least upgrading tech on bunker bases was quick! It was finally identified, after the line was created in its entirety that it did have one single weakness... storm cannons and rail storm cannons. Capable of firing between hexes. As such, while the small ground combat element led some assaults into Reaching Trail to buy time, Dain began construction of the one counter to these weapons - a storm cannon of our own. 48 hours later, Sky Shatterer would be capable of countering any adversary which attempted to use cross-border artillery to batter down our thick defensive walls.

On multiple occasions, the Colonial regiments of 404th and 1CMD attempted to breach the Bulwark, but were unsuccessful. Struggling against the immense firepower the defenses brought to bare, what little damage could be done and gap created were quickly plugged by hordes of defensive tanks and infantry units responding to the attempts to push. It was only through the use of alternative accounts, opening the gates, blocking garrison line of site, and rushing ballistas past these defenses that it could be penetrated. It was through this that Sky Shatterer was destroyed. However, Sky Shatterer II replaced it 48 hours later. Any vehicles or suspicious individuals now shot-on-site. With this wall protecting the valuable logistics areas of Basin Sionnach, the MPF crews and facilities were able to produce without worry of partisans or offensive enemy action. Overpowering the Colonial captured MPF in The King, Clanshead Valley through bitter fighting in Reaching Trail and Howl County, the Warden comeback began. What started as a war with the Wardens on the rope quickly developed into an epic comeback, with the Colonial legions left reeling from their defeat, after coming tantalizingly close to their victory.