Meckelno–Nü Krantisk War
| Meckelno–Nü Krantisk War | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of NKR insurrection | |||||||
 Meckelnburgh artillery in Balduvien |
|||||||
|
|||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Nü Krantisk Repüblik
|
|||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Unknown | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| NKR study groups
|
|||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
|
||||||
The Meckelno–Nü Krantisk War was a conflict in the northwestern cantons of Lac Glacei on Apollonia between the United Kingdom of Meckelnburgh and the Nü Krantisk Repüblik, with support by the Lanzerwald Republic. The war was a part of the broader NKR insurrection, a conflict spurred by the NKR's attempt to overthrow the government of Lac Glacei in face of the inability to control the internal security of the country. Faced with a mounting refugee crisis in Meckelnburgh proper and Iselande, and in response to the reports of genocide committed across the border, Meckelnburgh declared war on the NKR in 1753 AN.
The war concluded in 1754 AN after forces of the NKR were eliminated from Anglien, Jutien and western Balduvien and the limits of Meckelnburgh's ability to advance into the continent were reached. The Meckelno–Nü Krantisk War was the first full-fledged military conflict in the history of Meckelnburgh and tested 70 years of preparations.
Mobilization
The Parliament of Meckelnburgh declared war against the "illegitimate" Nü Krantisk Rapskaff (shortly afterwards declared the Nü Krantisk Repüblik) on 14.IV.1753 AN following a plea to Parliament in joint session by Queen Ĉielero III. The declaration also interrupted the 1753 AN parliamentary elections, with the Queen declining to dissolve parliament at their discretion before a preliminary war cabinet could be prepared.
The Queen as commander-in-chief declared the general mobilization of Their Royal Majesty's Services at Arms, including the full battalions of the reserve of Their Royal Majesty's National Guard. The armored rapid response brigades of the National Guard of the United Kingdom of Meckelnburgh launched a blitz attack of the kingdom's tank forces south of Iselande and east from Meckelnburgh, intended to overwhelm the less organized forces of the NKR.
Speech from the Queen
The Great People of Meckelnburgh,
These are times that try Man’s soul. For 70 years, this United Kingdom has attempted, not without imperfection, to serve as a Beacon of liberal democracy within Northern Apollonia. To that end, we once brought liberation and respite from despair to Iselande. And we served to cooperate likewise with the Great People of Lac Glacei in many mutual cultural, scientific and economic endeavors.
Now at the twilight of that wonderful Grand Duchy, we have seen the rise of a New Order on our borders. Not one to champion the light but of darkness. Countless human beings have fled to our lands in escape of a great horror and tyranny that has usurped that nation. We have heard in short order stories of despair and violence. The eyes of the Morningstar bleed in the temples of the righteous.
No meaning should exist in this United Kingdom if the view from outside the comfort of our lands were taken for granted as a sight of mere shock and awe. We cannot merely reside in our homes and use these horrors are entertainments on our phones and television screens. We owe a duty to this continent and this World, that the Omen of a Greater Age may rise like the phoenix from the flames.
It is in this purpose I have directed the servicemembers who have sworn an oath to our Great People to prepare. I command to mobilize every private and admiral to prepare to march and sail towards this icon of Justice. And I beg the audience of these chambers to dedicate our nation now in war as we have in peace. Our only failure is inaction. Should our neighbor fall only to disorder instead of darkness, we will have won.
SPOKE BEFORE PARLIAMENT, THIS 14TH DAY OF MARCHE IN THE YEAR 1753 AB NORTONE
THEIR ROYAL MAJESTY QUEEN OF THE MECKELNBURGHERS
Ongoing reinforcement
The Lanzerwald Republic's Lanzerwaldmarine offered help to its PRIMA partner Meckelnburgh in V.1753 AN and sent two Chantiers de Louisville Vaisseau-frégate 1740 frigates to Alexandretta as well as one regiment of the Kriegskorps Ludwigshafen to help defend the city and free up military resources.
By X.1753 AN, half the militia reserve battalions of the Meckelnburgh National Guard were activated to full strength, slowing to an intentional investment in resources outside of Iselande faced with few organized domestic threats by the land-focused NKR forces. Around 17 home battalions were mobilized out of 32. Three light infantry battalions were moved across the Meckelnburgh border a small distance into Balduvien to maintain the occupation of the region.
Timeline
| Year | Month | Day | Location | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ca.1744 AN | — | Ashinthael | Creation of Nü Krantisk Rapskaff | |
| 1752 AN | — | Lac Glacei | Ascension of Grand Duke Orion III | |
| — | Lac Glacei | Start of NKR Insurrection | ||
| 1753 AN | II | — | Trappsbruck | First known extrajudicial killings by NKR |
| III | — | Kloss | Start of ethnic violence against Mala'anje | |
| — | Mala | Creation of Mala'anje Resistance | ||
| — | Meckelnburgh | Start of refugee crisis fleeing NKR | ||
| IV | 14 | Alexandretta | War declared against Nü Krantisk Rapskaff | |
| V | 4 | Arminsburg | Declaration of Nü Krantisk Repüblik | |
| — | Antruusbuurg | Start of offensive on Iselandic Front | ||
| — | Alexandretta | Arrival of Lanzerwaldmarine forces | ||
| VI | — | Northern Sea | Start of regular Royal Navy patrols | |
| — | Ter-Sog | Arrival of North Arctic Battlegroup | ||
| — | Krantbuurg | Start of Siege of Krantbuurg | ||
| VII | — | Kerbuurg | Start of bombing raids on Saksenlant | |
| 10 | Krantbuurg | Refusal of NKR surrender, start shelling city | ||
| — | Rizactor | Start of Operation Puttin' on the Ritz | ||
| VIII | — | Zeivsbuurg | Start of bombing raids on Zeivsbuurg | |
| IX | 9 | Salem Town | Terrorist attack against civilians by NKR | |
| 21 | Zeivsbuurg | First casualty in history of Royal Air Force | ||
| 22 | Baltdun | Retaliatory attack against dockyards | ||
| X | — | Alexandretta | Rearming of Royal Saeweard | |
| XI | — | Ter-Sog | Defensive regrouping of National Guard | |
| XII | 2 | Bergbuurg | Resistance carries out Bergbuurg Strike | |
| 5 | Krantbuurg | Start of Battle of Krantbuurg | ||
| 16 | Johannsessbuurg | Start of naval blockade and sea mining | ||
| XIII | — | Antruusbuurg | Start of Novembre Offensive | |
| XIV | 4 | Johannsessbuurg | Victory in Novembre Offensive | |
| 14 | Krantbuurg | Outbreak of Winter Blizzard of 1753 | ||
| 1754 AN | I | 20 | Krantbuurg | Victory in Battle of Krantbuurg |
| 21 | Krantbuurg | Start of Occupied Balduvien administration | ||
| XI | 19 | Central Jutien | Surrender of NKR in Jutien, end of war | |
Krantbuurg Front
Ground operations
As part of the initial blitz, the National Guard in tandem with the rapid-deployment forces of the 1st and 2nd Armored Brigades and the 5th Mobile Infantry Brigade made steady, calculated progress through Balduvien. Over 14,000 troops were involved in the initial offense. Meckelnburgh forces finally laid siege to Krantbuurg in VI.1753 AN. NKR forces in Krantbuurg were given one month's warning to surrender the city to Meckelnburgh troops or "The institutions of fascist Nü Krantisk governance will learn why an artillery corps is a valuable investment."
Siege of Krantbuurg
On 10.VII.1753 AN, forces of the NKR in Krantbuurg responded to the surrender demand with a reportedly offensive but unpublished response. That afternoon, the War Office approved "all measures in the field deemed effective to end the genocidal forces at minimal loss of civilian life." After work hours circa 1730, the 5th Regiment Royal Artillery fired a single volley of 155 mm guided shells 30 km into the city, engulfing the headquarters of the NKR in flames. Light shelling continued against well-confirmed NKR targets over the coming days.
Over the next months, the National Guard continued the assault on Krantbuurg. Keeping a steady front, the Second Armored Brigade moved northeast to pursue a small forward position against any reinforcement attempts. The stable situation allowed a strong logistics base for the Armored Division, with plenty of fuel and ammunition flowing from Meckelnburgh over the national highway system. Light howitzer shelling against NKR administrative and armed forces bases maintained limited offensive resistance from the NKR, though Meckelnburgh was not confident to pursue a dangerous urban assault.
The strongest resistance and most Meckelnburghish casualties at the hands of the NKR around Krantbuurg came from infantry mortars. Often launched in suburban neighborhoods, counter-battery fire was limited due to high chances of civilian collateral damage.
Battle of Krantbuurg
Following a six-month siege against the city of Krantbuurg, Meckelnburgh finally decided to launch an urban assault against the city, seeing no alternative to breaking down the resistance from NKR fighters. Compounded with the terrorist attack against Salem on 9.IX.1753 AN, patience for a diplomatic solution ran out. The battle progressed throughout 1753 AN until the final surrender of NKR forces in southwestern Krantbuurg on 20.I.1754 AN. The Transitional Security Administration in West Balduvien was created in the wake to organize control over the territories captured during the war.
Air operations
The Royal Meckelnburgh Air Force, employing a flight of Nimbo B-4 Executioners from Boulonne, engaged in a strategic bombing sortie in mid VII.1753 AN against the airport in Kerbuurg, outside of air superiority range. The bombing, designed to deny use of the airport for aerial operations, was noted as a limited success, but did destroy the runway. Further bombings were made throughout VIII.1753 AN against Zeivsbuurg and approaching forces to the east of Krantbuurg.
Air superiority continued over north Lac Glacei, with the NKR having almost no air capabilities even without fighter resistance by the Royal Meckelnburgh Air Force. Meckelnburgh’s sole bomber squadron continued weekly attacks against airports and runways in northern Bladuvien and northwest Saksenlant.
On 21.IX.1753 AN, the first casualty in Meckelnburgh air force history came about when a shoulder-launched surface-to-air missile struck a Nimbo B-4 Executioner, downing the aircraft outside of fighter escort range over Zeivsbuurg. Pilot Officer Andrea Carson perished, the first servicemember to die in combat for the Royal Air Force. She was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Northern Sea patrol
Starting in VI.1753 AN, a task force of the Royal Meckelnburgh Navy with combined surface vessels stationed in Meckelnburgh proper and Iselande began a defensive patrol in the Northern Sea, Straits of Artsessdun and the Clear Sea. The task force was given the instruction "to command the surrender of any rickety NKR vessels in the Northern Sea, and send to the Morningstar those fascists who refuse."
Patrols in the Northern Sea were able to maintain a constant presence between Boulonne and Antruusbuurg following the reinforcement of Meckelnburgh naval defenses in the Crowsilver Sea after Lanzerwald naval forced provided two frigates to Alexandretta in V.1753 AN.
Following the terrorist attack against Salem, the Royal Meckelnburgh Navy split its surface combat patrol between a western task group near Salem and Hergilsey and one in the Straits of Artsessdun. The western task group on 22.IX.1753 AN launched a three-day intermittent retaliatory guided-missile attack against the port and dockyards in Baltdun, reducing the NKR’s ability to launch vessels in the Northern Sea.
The Royal Meckelnburgh Saeweard was granted auxiliary armaments on cutters in X.1753 AN following the reduction of force in the Saeward decades prior, intended to pursue a more peaceful posture. The result meant Salem was remilitarized for the first time in 30 years, intended to defend the small country from exploitation by hostile actors. A coast guard picket was established around the island with roving patrols.
With the rearmament of the Royal Saeweard throughout X–XI.1753 AN, coast guard vessels were assigned to the Straits of Artessdun, freeing naval forces of the eastern task group in the Clear Sea. After the reprisals in Anglien by the NKR following the Bergbuurg Strike, the Royal Meckelnburgh Navy moved the eastern task group south. Moving along the coast to the Bay of Johannsessbuurg. it established a naval blockade against the command of NKR forces in Anglien starting on 16.XII.1753 AN. Using a Ad Infernum-class coastal minelayer, the navy bottled up all NKR forces inside the bay and preventing resupply.
Iselandic Front
Forces of the North Arctic Battlegroup launched an attack in tandem to support the remaining front of Lac Glacei government forces pushed towards the Northern Sea south of Nurthaven. Lighter battalions of the Grand Ducal Iselande Defense Force moved south of Antruusbuurg to establish a narrow defensive line beneath Iselandic territory in Jutien. The isolated and desolate front was steadied by the subarctic Meckelnburgh National Guard units by V.1753 AN before an offensive push moved towards the allied-held city of Ter-Sog, where forces arrived in VI.1753 AN to defend it.
In a press conference following the North Arctic Battlegroup arrival in Ter-Sog, the National Guard confirmed forces would focus on stabilizing lines on the Iselandic Font in conjunction with the "rightful" forces of Lac Glacei government. Starting in IX.1753 AN. Meckelnburgh Public Health Service Corps began a systematic operation of providing healthcare and resources to refugees in northeast Lac Glacei, who were diverted from Iselande to Ter-Sog.
The North Arctic Battlegroup in XI.1753 AN began a minor withdrawal of forces holding vulnerable defensive lines halfway between Ter-Sog and Nurthaven. The result was an advance of NKR forces splitting the Iselande Defense Force and National Guard. Logistics support was transferred to the Meckelnburgh merchant marine out of Nurthaven and Fenixtune, supporting Ter-Sog along the lightly resisted northern coast. Armored battalions of the Meckelnburgh National Guard made minor defensive advancements and allowed minor retreats near Ter-Sog, establishing superior positions around the city.
In X.III, the North Arctic Battlegroup repositioned on the announcement that Natopia would be intervening in the war against the NKR. After leaving forward defensive positions from the area surrounding Ter-Sog, the 9th Armored and 7th Mobile Infantry Battalions began a rapid assault westward from Jutien. The defenses south of Nurthaven were entrusted to the Iselande Defense Force, exchanging positions south of Antruusbuurg.
The task force began a blitz assault out from Antruusbuurg with support from the 135th Fighter Squadron of the Royal Air Force in what was dubbed the Novembre Offensive, after the name in Meckelnburgh for the month of XIII. Making rapid progress against weak forces in freezing snow, the arctic-equipped force quickly occupied the northwest coast of Anglien, ending the offensive north of Johannsessbuurg Bay, where it connected with the blockade by the Royal Navy.
Operation Puttin' on the Ritz
In VII.1753 AN, the Expeditionary Strike Group of the Royal Meckelnburgh Navy landed a regiment of the Corps of Royal Marines in Rizactor, attempting to put a light force on the peninsula north of NKR-held Kloss and shore up Lac Glacei defenses for the allied-held city. With the arrival of TRMS Kestrel (CVL), a squadron of carrier-based fighters were positioned, finally placing all government-controlled cities in Anglien, Kloss and Saksenlant under Meckelnburgh air superiority.
Marine forces in Rizactor continued a weak defensive posture on the far end of the peninsula, intended to protect naval air asset access in the southern Clear Sea. Minor progress was made by NKR forces from Kloss throughout VII–IX.1753 AN without any breakout offenses.
Attack on Salem
On 9.IX.1753 AN, an NKR-affiliated "study group" cell carried out a bombing attack on the Meckelnburghish island of Salem. The attackers crossed by a small false-flagged fishing vessel from the vicinity of Zeivsbuurg in NKR-held territory, landed on the northern coast of Salem, and moved across the island to Salem Town during the main midsummer market day.
Multiple small explosive devices were planted and detonated in the crowded market district, causing heavy civilian casualties and widespread panic. The attack was accompanied by the distribution of propaganda leaflets in Meckelnish, Aspiranto, and Crandish stamped with an NKR emblem. The main headlines of the leaflets were Op än uut Krandböörch (in Meckelnish), Foriru el Krandburgo (in Aspiranto), Alai Krantbuurgo! (in Crandish), all meaning "Get out of Krantbuurg!".
Local police and emergency services secured the area within hours. A few members of the cell were intercepted by a Royal Saeweard detachment while attempting to escape by sea, and three suspects were arrested just outside Salem Town itself by municipal police. Authorities reported that three additional perpetrators were believed to remain at large.
The attack provoked strong public reaction in Meckelnburgh and led to heightened maritime security measures around outlying islands. NKR-aligned media later expressed regret for civilian deaths while portraying the attackers as "martyrs" and "family fathers from Krantbuurg, whose families are dying under Meckelnish siege", and who were acting in a desperate response to the siege of Krantbuurg. In mourning the victims, the Chancellor of Meckelnburgh commented "The people of Krantbuurg are fed and warm. They have no shortage of food, light and heat. The fascists must surrender."
Home front
A war bonds campaign launched in VII.1753 AN earned over Ʀ1 million for the war effort following coordinated military parades in Alexandretta by the Band of the Royal Air Force Regiment and in Fenixtune by the Volunteer Band of the Iselande Defense Force. An unofficial march in Hergilsey by an ad hoc band from the Regiment of Royal Artillery was noted as "the most patriotic cacophony in Meckelnburgh history."
By X.1753 AN, the National Guard captured 22 prisoners of war from the NKR, who were moved to incarceration at a special-built facility around the barracks at Battleferd Point in Meckelnburgh proper.
Public sentiment
Public opinion for the war registered over 80% at the start of the conflict in IV.1753 AN in metropolitan Meckelnburgh and Iselande, while Branniboria was more lukewarm at 55%. These numbers wavered but kept around the same average until the terrorist attack in Salem Town in IX.1753 AN. Public support for the war jumped to 75% in Branniboria and over 90% in the remainder of the kingdom.
End of the war
The United Kingdom of Meckelnburgh concluded the war on 19.XI.1754 AN following Operation Ter-Swan Song and the complete liberation of Jutien from the Nü Krantisk Repüblik. While no formal surrender of the NKR could be achieved throughout the former Lac Glacei, with pockets of forces existing in the void created between occupied Balduvien and Anglien, the Meckelno–Nü Krantisk War resulted in the elimination of the NKR in Anglien, Jutien and western Balduvien. The war partially solved a humanitarian crisis on Meckelnburgh's borders, while serving to end a genocide in regions where the small kingdom could successfully project its military forces.
Territorial changes
The end of the war saw Meckelnburgh occupy western Balduvien as part of the Transitional Security Administration in West Balduvien, a non-territorial administration to repel any NKR presence in the region. Forces around Ter-Sog withdrew from northern Jutien by the start of 1755 AN, leaving the territory to unorganized governance, but free of NKR rule. Marine forces around Rizactor left the city to cooperate with the Natopian intervention and Operation Ter-Swan Song, combined with the reality that the exposed position was untenable to control for the extended future. The city was then taken by local NKR forces. In tandem, the separate Free Duchy of Anglien was established in the former canton of Anglien and other territories south of Iselande.
Other effects
Cooperation with Natopia during the conflict led to the Iselandic Thaw, a nationwide reduction in negative feelings towards the Raspur Pact and its member states that existed for almost 50 years after The Troubles in former Jääland and the creation of modern Iselande.
