Operation Southpaw
| Operation Southpaw | |||||||
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| Part of Wars of the Disinherited | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Raspur Pact
|  The Green  Confederacy of the Dispossessed.
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Operation Southpaw is the name given to the ongoing military conflict in South Moorland as elements of the Moorland Armed Forces continue their efforts to root out hostiles and remnants of the Confederacy of the Dispossessed.
Background
Following the events of Operation Lefthand Punch and the ousting of Dispossessed elements from neighboring Ostland, raids from The Green intensified from those enemy elements still existing in the anarchic zones. The north, along the border with Nevermoor, continued to experience raids but already had the infrastructure in place to repel these forces. South Moorland, which was only recently transferred to the Kingdom, did not have these failsafes in place and was subject to more violent attacks. These appeared in greater number, presumably their ranks having been bolstered by those forces which fled Ostland after the Wars of the Disinherited. At the conclusion of the war a militia was raised specifically for South Moorland's defense, the Southmoor Garrison. This unit has since taken the brunt of the conflict, pushing west into the uncontrolled gap between Ostland to the north and Anahuaco to the south. At the start of 1725 it was determined by the government that this area should be secured by the Kingdom in order to eliminate hostilities there once and for all. As such King MacMartin authorized the dispatching of military units into the area to eliminate the presence of hostiles and secure it for the benefit of South Moorland.
Allied contributions to the campaign would include:
Anahuaco: a pair of observation balloons, 49 M1680 120 mm field guns, 60 trucks, 1,200 porters, 340 pack horses, 1,560 commissary troops, and 600 mounted provosts from the Imperial Armed Forces of Anahuaco.
Benacian Union: the High Presidium of the Benacian Union offered the 87th Air Support Regiment of the Aviation Forces of the Benacian Union, based in the Warring Islands Special Autonomous Region, to support the campaign. This would however amount in practice to 7 airworthy examples of the GAV-4(U) Jackalope and 6 artillery spotter drones.
Constancia: Task Force Northeast: Volunteers from the 507th (Nivardom Province) Army and the 508th (Raspur Khanate) Army, organized into 1,800-strong unit called the Euran Lion Regiment, 40 medical personnel, 50 associated civilian personnel, Logistic Support Vessel , Rhodondra-class amphibious assault ship with 4 Javelin H-5 Sovereign, 2 Seafox-class corvette.- Keltia Command: 3 volunteer regiments formed from 4,038 of all ranks taken from the Grand Commissariat of Keltia. A Javelin M-1 Eternal high altitude reconnaissance UAV, operated for Keltia Command by the Federal Air Force of Nouvelle Alexandrie, was also tasked to support allied operations.
Normark: attached from the Nordhær was the 1st Command & Control Regiment, 4th Brigade of Foot, 1st Motorcycle Security Regiment, and the 8th Commissariat Regiment, equating to 10,800 men under arms 1,130 BK-VIII Light Infantry Scout Vehicles, and 926 miscellaneous support vehicles and light trucks.
Nouvelle Alexandrie: The Federal Forces of Nouvelle Alexandrie were able to offer generous military and logistical support for the operation via the Nouvelle Alexandrie-Moorland Joint Training Facility, including the deployment of airmobile elements of Task Force "Vigilance", garrisoned in Moorland, and the rapid deployment of combat, reconnaissance, and transport air assets into the region. Committed air assets would amount to 98 F-9 Ashavan II, 56 Javelin H-2 Siren, 15 C-12 Sojourner, and 659 C-11 Mula transport aircraft, organised into an Expeditionary Air Group with elements split between the joint training facility and Citadele Alexandrin in Normark.
The rapid accumulation of allied pledges of support was a good demonstration of the utility of the Raspur Pact in serving as a significant force multiplier for a member state's own military strength.
Major Battles
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Black Creek
Black Creek was the first battle of Operation Southpaw and occurred just over the western border of South Moorland into the Green. The Southmoor Garrison took part in the battle with support from auxiliary units from the Raspur Pact. The eponymous Black Creek itself is a creek that flows south from Ostland and marks the border between South Moorland and the Green. It has often been used as a natural defense against raiders, slowing down advancing forces moving east. Hostile forces were camped not far from the western shores of the creek, so Moorland's forces used a combination of air and missile support to attack that position and clear the area for advancing ground forces. A single M60 AVLB truck bridge, which had been purchased from RP allies, was quickly brought in to bridge the creek and allow ground forces to advance across quickly and without suffering any losses; save for one horse that fell off the bridge, broke its leg and had to be euthanized. The bridge was especially important as it allowed the garrison to advance its armored units across the creek and into enemy territory. By accomplishing this the garrison was able to engage and smash hostile forces that were arrayed camping there, who, having been lulled by a false sense of defense by the creek, were caught unawares. As such allied forces were able to advance roughly 64 kilometers west before being halted by hostile forces that had gathered. These were engaged and pushed further west towards the stronghold of Torcastle.
Torcastle
Within a few short months the MAF had pushed westward to the stronghold of Torcastle. A former Nova English outpost, the village had been overtaken by militants from the Dispossessed and turned into a staging ground for attacks on the Ostland/Moorland frontier. The Southmoor Garrison pounded west, no longer obstructed by the the Black Creek, and laid siege to the city. The M1701 MLRS units were brought in to shell the city walls from a safe distance, opening up a path in its defenses for units to enter the city centre. The stone walls, built several centuries ago, crumbled rather easily under the barrage and opened up a channel by which armored units could enter the city unobstructed. As armored units moved closer, MLRS redirected their fire on targets within the city, such as the barracks and a munitions depot. At the same time, F-9 Ashavan II's on loan from NAX were utilized to provide a series of devastating airstrikes on the city, sending its defenders reeling. These combined air assaults allowed the A17 armored units to penetrate into the inner city and secure a pathway for non-armored ground units to enter. Cavalry units were not used in this maneuver, and were held back at a safe distance; the use of a horse in tight quarters being deemed impracticable. Instead only foot units moved into the city. Here they engaged enemy forces and began sweeping the city by quadrant to flush out combatants holed up in those structures that remained standing. By evening most of the city had been secured, with an estimated five-hundred enemy soldiers having escaped the city and fled north to Strathill.
Strathill
It took two more months for elements of allied command to push north and engage the final holdout of resistance in Strathill. Sweeping airstrikes had to be utilized repeatedly to clear enemy forces who would retreat several kilometers and then dig in, take a hit, retreat, regroup and repeat. While this process inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy, it also exhausted MAF soldiers and supplies. By the time the outskirts of Strathill were in sight the conflict had dragged on for six months. The delaying tactic had proven successful, as it had weakened allied forces and allowed the hostiles to reinforce Strathill with fresh recruits from the Green. The M1680 artillery on loan from Anahuaco was brought to bear on the city, while the spotter drones from the Benacian Union provided target sighting. This was coupled with a rotation of airstrikes on the city with the F-9's, creating a perpetual bombardment until the outer defenses crumbled under the incessant onslaught. Despite the overwhelming firepower brought to bear, the defenders held out for three days before the walls utterly collapsed and tanks entered the city. While leveling the city had been considered, the hope had been to simply expel the hostiles and spare civilians, so hand-to-hand fighting became an unfortunate but necessary undertaking. The Southmoor Garrison entered the city under fire, pushing into the center square. Airstrikes continued on the north away from friendly troops. This forced the hostiles to fight on two fronts and distracted them long enough for the garrison to take the city. By the evening the hostile forces were attempting to escape, only to be cut down by Javelin's that had been stationed outside the city limits. Despite these efforts, quite a number of enemy forces scattered and escaped west into the Green. But the victory, though costly, had brought an end to the operation and the successful expulsion of the Dispossessed from South Moorland.
