The velucian soldiers are continually bombarded by 6-inch railgun slugs from thr Zumwalt-Class destroyers. Twenty five B-2 Spirits, practically invisible to conventional radar systems, begin carpet bombing the Velucian lines along with 50 pzh 155mm self propelled artillery systems.

The defensive lines around Damascus are bolstered with another 250 Leopard 3 MBTS and 120,000 soldiers.

Six of the B-2s are shot down, but all of them manage to release their payload of 4 5000 kilogram bombs directly on top of the Velucian defenses.

The SU-24s, as they pass, are lit up by 60 Flakpanzer Gepards, firing both SAMs and 30mm cannons at the slower CAS aircraft.

The missiles being fired at the defensive lines kill around 1200 soldiers, 15 Leopard 3s, and a single PZh.

The instant that the Velucian Destroyers open fire, the Prussian Carrier Group off the coast of Lebanon all opens fire. The two Bismarck-class Battleships fire a collective 16 tri-cannon 20-inch naval guns, all of them assisted by a firing computer. The 8 Berlin-Class Missile Cruisers fire off a collective 16 anti-ship ballistic missiles towards the destroyers, focusing on four of them. The eight Type-206 U Boats that were previously used to creep up the Coast silently orient themselves to fire their torpedoes, each of them firing off 2 535cm anti-ship torpedoes then going into a shallow dive at 2 knots immediately after.

Any T-90As that engage the Leopard 3 have a very difficult time penetrating the tank from the front, given its sloped design and ERA.

The pzh 2000s continue firing off 155mm shells at heavy concentrations of attacking infantry or armored vehicles.

Velucian high command, realising that casualties have gone beyond expected levels; at around 20,000 men and 1000 pieces of armour, decided that the needs of the Imperial Dominion are greater than that of the Syrian people. Tons of explosives are now being dropped on the Prussian lines, with bombers ordered to drop as much of their payload as possible; no longer tied back by precautions of civilian targets. The MIL-MI28s bombard any locations believe to contain enemy armour with rockets and have begun destroying the foundation of any multi-storey buildings near to the Prussians in an attempt to collapse them on the defenders. 2S19 Msta's (SPGs) brought up from the reserves have also begun to fire shell at any designated targets velucian troops have been able to paint. The Imperial 2nd fleet (made up of 1 Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier, 2 Kirov-class battlecruisers, 5 Sovremennyy-class destroyers and 8  Grisha-class corvettes) makes its way to intercept the Prussian fleet currently bombarding Damascus.

On the ground, Velucian infantry have moved into range of Prussian forces and have begun fighting. Due to the numerous ruins surrounding Damascus, due to its history, the soldiers gain cover and pick off targets as they see them, they are around 35 - 40 meters away. The T-90a's, however, are struggling to damage the numerous Leopard 3's due to their forward armour and so attempt to use flanking manoeuvres to get shots at the rear of the tanks. For the most part this is a success, though armour causalities are high. The 2S25's, on the other hand, have been very successful in their task - which is to put as much pressure on the Prussian infantry as possible.

Seeing how the 24s were being picked off by Prussian Gepards, after they had expelled all their ammunition, they returned back to what remains of the airstrip - just in time to watch a Tupolev Tu-160, that had arrived just before the combat began from the mainland, take off to drop its payload of 20000kg of free-fall explosives. It is escorted by 12 SU-35 fighter jets.

(OOC - if any S's are missing, its because my s button doesn't work sometimes.)

The Western Commonwealth is shocked and appalled to hear that The Velucian's are attacking without any thought of civilian casualties. We would like to suggest that the Velucian's leave Syria, to maintain peace, prevent more civilian casualties and drag this war into more low levels.

The Commonwealth would like to suggest that the Velucian's be temporarily banned and sanctioned by the CEA for it's decision.

We also would like to give appreciation to Redern for it's brave actions to save as many civilian lives

For the needless casualties brought upon by the attacks in Syria and the deaths of two of our most heroic Rangers, we, the Republic of Redern, have decided to momentarily cut all trade with Velucia until they end there bombing of Syria. We have begun transferring the civilians over to transport ships in the Mediterranean, and we ask that our humanitarian mission be respected and that other nations join us. We might rethink our trade policies should Velucia and the other active forces agree to a ceasefire in order to better evacuate the local population.

The Western Commomwealth will officially join Redern's humanitarian mission proposal.

We will be taking in 10,000 private sponsored refugees and 10,000 government sponsored refugees. They will taken by Ship and also by government leased aircraft. We ask that no sides to respect our ships and planes. They will be escorted by armed aircraft amd ships.

More details coming soon.

Very few Prussian soldiers are actually within the city of Damascus, most are in entrenched locations outside of the city. The bombing campaign kills around 1,000 Prussian soldiers, and upwards of 55,000 Syrian Civilians. Seeing that they can no longer fall back, the remaining 210,000 Prussian soldiers stand their ground and dig in, assisted by a remaining 250 Leopard 3 MBTs, all of which are hulled down with only their heavily sloped turret, with extensive ERA, visible. The flanking maneuver is somewhat successful, but the ERA provides substantial protection. That, coupled with the fact that the Leopard 3's main cannon can perform a full 360 degree rotation in 8.3 seconds, makes the Leopard far more formidable than the T-90A in terms of close-range engagements.

As the Dominion fleet is presumably cutting through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea, rather than sailing around Africa, they find themselves cut off by a grid of submerged, stationary, and silent Type-206 U-Boats from the 2nd and 3rd Carrier Groups that were responsible for securing Iran and Pakistan. There are 18 U-Boats in total, all of them having laid naval mines in the path of the Velucian fleet. As the Velucian fleet sails into the minefield, the 18 U-Boats fire off a collective 40 553cm torpedoes at the Velucian battlegroup, immediately diving at a 30 degree angle at 2 knots after firing. They place preference on the aircraft carrier, battlecruisers, and destroyers.

The carrier off the coast of Lebanon deploys 35 ME-35 Interceptors to intercept the TU-160 and SU-35 Fighters. The Gepards also fire SAMs at the TU and SUs, with a priority placed on the TU. All-in-all, about 60 SAMs are fired at the aircraft, with 30 being directed specifically at the TU-160.

The 2 Bismarck-Class Battleships continue firing their 20-inch cannons at the Velucian tanks and soldiers, with the Zumwalt Destroyer's 6-inch railgun being fired at the Velucian SPGs. The Berlin-Class Cruisers continue firing their ballistic missiles at the Velucian Long-Rang Missile Systems, and their own 6-inch railguns at the Velucian AA. The Type-552 U-Boats begin firing cruise missiles from a submerged position, sending them towards large concentrations of Velucian tanks and soldiers at MACH-8.


*Berlin*
Prussian Naval High Command issues a classified order, dispatching 15 Type-552 U-Boats.

(I cant challenge that at the moment, but I can say - "This has escalated very, very quickly")