Operation Lefthand Punch

Operation Lefthand Punch
Part of Wars of the Disinherited
Date 1719.12 AN - Location Ostland • Moorland Status Ongoing
Belligerents
Moorland Supported by:  Raspur Pact  Benacian Union  Floria  Nouvelle Alexandrie	Ostland Confederacy of the Dispossessed.

Operation Lefthand Punch is a Moorlander military operation following the events in Ostland. The objective of the conflict is to end the Bassarid-controlled government of Ostland and liberate the country from the Confederacy of the Dispossessed, which has clandestinely seized control and assassinated the Ostlandic Royal Family.

Background

Following the secrets revealed by Operation Phantom, it was revealed that the Bassarids had assassinated King Nikolaus and the Royal Family, in the process replacing him and other high-ranking officials with Bassarid impostors. The ruse extended to all Ostlandic government, resulting in a secretive takeover of Ostland that allowed the Bassarids to exploit their disguise in aid to the Dispossessed. This was especially apparent in the collapse of the District of Moorland and losses sustained in Normark. Following publication of the documents that were obtained, Moorland issued a declaration of war against Ostland, calling on its Raspur Pact allies for assistance. The entirety of the Moorland Armed Forces was mobilized, including reservists.

Major Battles

The Siege of Port Moorland

In the 13th month of 1719 the Kingdom of Moorland launched its first assault on Bassarid-Ostlandic forces with the commencement of Operation Lefthand Punch. Moorland's forces located near West Grinstead moved swiftly in a southwest arc and punched through Ostland's border defenses, utilizing armored tank columns in a blitz maneuver that shredded the defenders poorly organized army. The campaign was preceded by a massive propaganda deployment reveling the leaked documents proving that King Nikolaus was in fact a Bassarid imposter. Not only did this do much to cause desertion among Ostland's ranks, it also caused severe disorder as Ostlander's began to fight against the Bassarid oppressors. Thus when the Moorlander army arrived at the border Ostland's forces were already struggling to maintain coherency. This enabled armored columns to quickly reach the outskirts of Port Moorland with minimal losses and begin a siege of the city. Artillery was quickly brought in behind these units along with additional ground forces, who began shelling the city in earnest. The port's defenses proved to be much more formidable than those stationed at the border, and a siege took place as units on both sides dug in.

By the 15th month of 1719 the port had been surrounded and continual bombardment by artillery crumbled its defenses. By the third week the MAF broke through the remaining line of defense and marched into the city, seizing control and marking the first victory over Dispossessed-occupied territory in Ostland. Immediate mop-up operations began to fortify control over the surrounding area and the Bay of Orrin. Outlying towns such as Detsab, Ramshorn and Beckinsale were heavily fortified as a defense perimeter while the MAF regrouped, established firm control over Port Moorland, and prepared for further advances west.

The Battle of Stathford

By the spring of 1720, as the winter snows began to melt, Moorlander forces had regrouped near Ramshorn and prepared for a fresh western offensive. Utilizing the speed of armored columns, they pushed through Ostlandic defenses quickly and seized the small town of North Watten before being stopped at St. Leonards. Here they met a much larger army of Bassarids and Ostlanders, though it was clear that there was much confusion among ranks as the Dispossessed fought to maintain control in the face of their exposure. A pitched battle ensued as the city was briefly shelled, with the unfortunate loss of the Cathedral of St Leonard by stray artillery fire. The collapse of the massive structure caused a dust and debris cloud that blanketed the city and blinded the defenders long enough for the MAF to break through their lines and enter the city. Ostlandic forces surrendered first, capitulating to the Moorlanders and pleading ignorance to their Bassarid overlords. This left the Dispossessed in a severely weakened state and they soon followed suit, with most being taken prisoner.

Not wishing to lose impetus, the POWs were rounded up and placed under guard by relief units from the Federal Forces of Nouvelle Alexandrie, while MAF forces plowed on westward, cutting across open fields to the tiny hamlet of Jospoole, taking it without a fight. Then back on the main road to the city of Stathford. Here the MAF ground to a halt as it faced off against a much larger contingent of the Dispossessed who, having received forewarning of their advance, had dug in and reinforced the town. The town, located in an open flatland, did not provide any high ground for advancing MAF units. Only the cover of some small nearby forests gave Moorland any sort of protection. Thus establishing themselves at a somewhat safe distance, MAF artillery began shelling the city. Several times the Bassarids sent columns out of the town on offense and fought in the fields outside the city walls. But neither side was able to achieve an edge over the other, and so the battle carried on into the second month of 1720.

The arrival of reinforcements from the Benacian Union in late spring gave MAF units some desperately-needed respite and time for additional forces to arrive from the north. With renewed vigor they crushed the remaining defenses at Stathford and advanced west towards Ubbin Falls.

The Battle of Stathford

The Fall of Port Neil

By the middle of 1720, the MAF had reached the outskirts of Port Neil and immediately set siege to the city. Artillery set up a constant barrage of the city's defenses that last two months. In the meantime, air units targeted areas out of reach of artillery, such as the harbor and city centre. By the sixth month of 1720 Port Neil's defenses utterly crumbled under the continued onslaught and ground units advanced into the city proper. Allied command established a forward HQ in the village of Llyn northwest of Port Neil and securely under friendly control. As armored battalions rumbled into the city, Dispossessed forces began a controlled retreat towards entrenched positions closer to the south but backing them into an untenable position against the sea.

As the battle raged on into the seventh month of 1720 the Dispossessed position began to falter as their ranks wore thin, forcing them to abandon positions and fall back closer to the harbor. At this point air raids had ceased due to the proximity of friendly forces and the chance that they could be hit by stray bombs. So despite the ruinous state of the harbor, Bassarid forces were able to entrench themselves for a final showdown. Although it was considered to shell the area with artillery until it was utterly destroyed, this plan was abandoned in lieu of advancing with a combination of armored and foot forces. Thus despite the potential for greater casualties, Allied forces advanced slowly into the harbor, pushing the Dispossessed out one sector at a time. Eventually they wore them down to the old fishery pier with most enemy forces holed up in the few remaining warehouses still standing.

Several warehouses were shelled by armored units, collapsing in flames with enemy soldiers trapped inside. Although Moorlander command had issued orders to take the enemy captive, casualties were inevitable. Tedious as the advance was, Allied forces eventually reduced the enemy to a lone remaining warehouse. Rather than shell the structure, special forces stormed the building in order to force the remaining Bassarids to surrender. The large bay doors were blasted open with explosives allowing MAF units to advance en masse into the warehouse. Despite this casualties were high and the battle raged for over an hour. But in the end the Dispossessed could not stand against the numerical superiority of their foe.

As the last of the Bassarids gave up the fight, Allied forces were shocked to find the imposter King Nikolaus camouflaged among their ranks. Explaining their persistence in keeping up the fight, the false monarch was taken into custody. He was immediately transported back to Newcastle-upon-Eastmoor for interrogation. The remaining enemy soldiers were placed under arrest and escorted to POW camps elsewhere. Apparently the King had fled Reichsborg after Floria took the city, concealing himself under the guise of a soldier of the Dispossessed and hiding among their ranks. His fellow soldiers, knowing their king, had vowed to protect him to the last, and thus put up such a vigorous fight at the harbor. The capture of the king immediately threw the remaining enemy-controlled areas of Ostland into chaos. Most native Ostlanders, having slowly come around to the fact that the Dispossessed had been using them as puppets, had already started to revolt against the deceivers. The arrest of Nikolaus seemed to amplify that tenfold.

Aftermath

In the immediate aftermath of the capture of the imposter King, whose real Bassarid name turned out to be Sausolo Nii, a Nikolaus-lookalike dredged up from some backwater on Corum, the false monarch was airlifted back to Newcastle-upon-Eastmoor for interrogation by Raspur Pact joint command. The remaining Dispossessed-controlled government of Ostland collapsed without their leader and surrendered, immediately being placed under arrest and escorted to POW camps. The emergence of the so-called Lord Protector of Ostland was viewed with strong skepticism given recent events, and the legitimacy of this person and his control over Ostland remains questionable and unrecognized for the time being.

MAF forces halted further confrontations, only engaging with hostile forces if provoked. All territory east and north of Port Neil is currently being held under occupation by Moorland until the new government of Ostland's legitimacy can be verified and a treaty negotiated. By XII.1720, after a series of tense negotiations, Ostland agreed to cede Port Moorland to Moorland as compensation for losses incurred during the conflict. In return Moorland granted recognition to the government of Otto Eisenmann and began the final withdrawal of MAF forces from Ostlandic territory. Both countries agreed to cooperate in order to flush out the last remnants of Bassarid influence.

Territory occupied by Moorland at the conclusion of hostilities

International reaction

•  Benacian Union:
  • By 13.XIII.1719, the 24th Aviation (Strike) Regiment, 78th Air Support Regiment, and the 6th Maritime Air Support Regiment of the BUDF had been relocated to Port Esther in the Warring Islands Special Autonomous Region. These units would form the nucleus of an expeditionary air wing tasked with supporting ongoing Florian and Moorlander offensive operations in Ostland.
  • With the evacuation of the District of Moorland having concluded, the services of the Maritime Support Group were once more engaged in order to conduct harassment raids against the littoral of Ostlandic occupied Nova England. Actions, which would include attacks on merchant shipping as well as the landing of raiding parties drawn from the Warring Islands Volunteer Regiment, were undertaken with the intention of drawing elements of the Ostlandic Heer away from the main axes of the Florian and Moorlander advance.
  • Following the withdrawal of the Florian Expeditionary Force during III.1720 AN, Streïkrupp "Ostland" was transferred to the Moorlander area of operations.
  • In view of the disparities of available manpower between Moorland and Ostland, the Benacian Union undertook to provide additional manpower with which to ensure that the Moorland Armed Forces would continue to enjoy the means to carry on with the occupation and subsequent evacuation back to the pre-war frontier.
    • The role of the Maritime Support Group was accordingly expanded dramatically between III and XI.1720.