Codex Transportica

Faced with what had previously been a difficult (if not impossible terrain) in the Eastern deserts, the Allies had been forced to approach the Axis towards the much more heavily defended Western shores. The deserts were a nightmare for motorised vehicles, and the logistics (not to mention the constant danger from anti-aircraft weapons) meant that air deployment was impossible.

Alongside this, the Western defences were a byword for impenetrability, and many believed the enemy to be in an unbeatable position on its home territory. Seemingly safe behind these environmental barriers, constant air strikes and missile barrages would emerge, harrying the embattled invasion forces and destroying morale.

This situation remained in a status quo for much of the early part of the war, until the Allies annexed the first of the Eastern European countries. At this point, they were able to gain a significant addition to the war effort thanks to the Vjegoslavians who declared allegiance to the Allied forces after their liberation. The first offering from the Vjegoslavian government was the immense Territorial Imperative: effectively a giant armoured (and heavily-gunned!) motorised roller.

The rationale behind such a design was that the roller would not sink into the treacherous desert sands, and the armour-plating provided not only a high degree of protection, but the weight of the six inch thick alloy had a beneficial side-effect: the desert sand was crushed and compressed to the point where it was subsequently drivable by more run-of-the-mill vehicles.

Due to leaving a smooth trail behind itself, and of course its grindingly slow rate of progress, it was christened with the somewhat less-than-complimentary nickname of the “Iron Slug”. However the machine was in fact looked upon with a great deal of affection by its crew and those fortunate enough to be sheltered by its massive bulk during combat.

Forgivably, “collateral crushing” (as it was officially termed) was an inevitable side effect of the machines poor response after it had gained momentum. Fighting alongside the VTI simply meant you may well become yet another “flat friendly” if you weren’t nimble enough to leap safely out of its oncoming path.

The Territorial Imperative proved to be somewhat pivotal to the fortunes of the war. Later models were outfitted with truly devastating high-velocity “Blanka” cannon as the Allies pushed across the desert closer to the enemy installations.