Euran War
| Euran War | |||||||||
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 Jingdaoese Fleet in the Sandy River Estuary, Southern Eura |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Joseph Myksos  | |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| x1 frigate (all hands lost) 10,000 confirmed KIA [1] | CASA CN-235 x1 Learjet 45 x1 |
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The Euran War, begun in May 2016, saw the small Kingdom of Constancia plunged into war against the far larger and militarily aggressive Jingdaoese Empire. It was a David and Goliath struggle from the outset.
Background
A faux pas unprecedented in modern diplomacy
The conflict derived from the sudden deterioration in relations between the two states in early May 2016, particularly after the passage of the International Recognition Act by the Synklētos, the legislature of Constancia, which charged the Borders Control Agency to compile a list of recognised states based on three identified criteria, these being:
a) Constitutional Government;
b) The holding of a recognised territorial claim on the map of Micras;
c) Reciprocal recognition of the Kingdom and the ruling Basileus.
The manner in which this information was collated was deemed by some foreign governments to be somewhat insensitive, and queries were raised in Natopia and Craitland about the implicit unilateral alteration of the previously established diplomatic relations between their respective countries and Constancia. The Grand Chamberlain of the Court of the Calm Waters, the Natopian Foreign Minister, went so far as to hint at the potential for the repudiation of their recently signed 'Pact of Perpetual Friendship' after being insulted with the receipt of a box tick form to complete. However the most extreme reaction occurred in Jingdao, where the Emperor immediately responded to being labelled a fascist by conferring 'Hun' status on the entire Kingdom of Constancia.[1] This was rather more serious than it sounds as under Jingdaoese law and custom the hun are impure and may be killed or even consumed with impunity. Following this, the Kattei Emperor, Heinrich Rasmus, commanded his nobles in the Imperial Assembly to debate ways to "bring down Constancia".[2] After more outlandish proposals to use atomic weapons to irradiate the land and render it uninhabitable were discounted, debate turned to the prospect of occupying and colonising the small inland Kingdom on the Continent of Eura.
Jingdaoese preparations
The first act of the Imperial Jingdaoese Navy, two days prior to the declaration of war[3], was to dispatch a force of twelve corvettes of the Imperial Navy to the estuary of the Sandy River, a mega river that flowed from Lake Erik in the southern central portion of Euran continental landmass, southwards into the Southern Ocean. Their mission was to identify a channel in the river deep enough for Jingdao's ocean-going capital ships to use to navigate up into Lake Erik and from whence they could roam at will attacking Vey, the lakeside capital of Constancia, as well as other military and civilian targets.
The secondary objective for the reconnaissance force was to install a boom defence cable across the river to interfere with Constancian shipping and inhibit their use of the river.
The Jingdaoese Declaration of War[4], made on the 8th of May, in an emergency session of the Imperial Assembly, by Chancellor Joseph Myksos, cited a fear of encirclement by regimes hostile to its objective of purifying the continent of Apollonia. Whilst not naming those regimes, there could be no doubt that the Imperial Republic of Shireroth, former ruler of Kildare (the largest territorial component of the Jingdaoese Empire) was foremost on the Chancellor's mind as a spate of provocations, such as a poisoning plot and staged terrorist attacks in the Landsraad (the Shirerithian parliament), had led to Kaiser Hjalmar terminating all forms of diplomatic relations with the Empire[5]. The Constancian diplomatic misstep therefore provided Jingdao with an opportunity to sidestep this rebuff by striking towards Eura instead.
"Our Empire, for its existence and self-defense has no other recourse but to appeal to arms and to crush every obstacle in its path." - Chancellor Myksos
Amongst other, less reputable, acts was the decision of the Emperor to violate the usual customs of diplomatic immunity to order the seizure of the Constancian envoy and diplomatic staff for the acting out of a macabre ritual where half the delegation was executed and fed to the other half[6].
Meanwhile, on the evening of the 8th of May, the the Batavian Royal Navy, an auxiliary fleet of one of the Empire's subject states, joined the main fleet of Jingdao at sea en route to the Euran continent. The aircraft carrier HLS Vermeylen, the battleships HLS Gradus, HLS Goburin, HLS Yuandi and HLS Germania's Justice (the Batavian flagship) and the frigates HLS Dietsland, HLS Transingel, HLS Nedergermania and HLS Pentapolis comprised the significant task force.
Constancian preparations
On the 8th of May, Basileusa Megaliótate Cleo, Autokrateira of Constancia, made an address to the Kingdom that was broadcast on the television channels and over the national radio service. In it she reciprocated the Jingdaoese declaration of war with a declaration of her own. In so doing she reminded her subjects that they were a kingdom of free men and women now faced with war against an empire of slaves. During her short, but emotion-laden, address she predicted that Jingdao would 'never ever come to dominate over the freedom-loving peoples of Micras' and that the war would 'restore Constancian authority on the world scene'.
This was followed on the same day by the publication of a decree ordering the mobilisation of the Constancian Navy.[7]
With the assistance of foreign advisers, the Constancian Army began preparing so-called 'infernal machines', improvised explosive devices in waterproofed containers and attached to a buoyancy device, typically a barrel, disguised as drifting weed clumps or debris. The improvised naval mines were fitted with proximity fuses and or remote control detonators and were floated out onto the Sandy River to help impede Jingdaoese access to the inland sea known as Lake Erik.
The following day, on the 9th of May, the Basileusea issued letters patent authorising the destruction of any and all Jingdaoese combat units or 'private aircraft' encountered within Constancian territory. Otherwise the first full day of the war passed without any meaningful activity by either party to the conflict.
On the 10th of May, the Constancian Army began making a series of deployments towards the city of Portus Felix as part of a strategy to defend the Constanican stretch of the Sandy River from Jingdaoese incursions. On the same day the University of Vey announced the formation of a student militia and the creation of the University Air Squadron, a collection of jet prototypes and donated civilian aircraft which would be converted to provide close air support for the Army.
The Constancian Armed Forces had only been created three months previously, and as such found, on mobilisation, that it was suffering from severe deficiencies in organisation, stores, materiel and heavy weaponry. Only the Home Guard had undergone serious expansion since the creation of the armed forces and yet it was primarily concerned with area defence and equipped with light infantry weapons, where these were available.
Arms imports
The Constancian government, as a consequence, began casting around for overseas assistance in securing arms, ammunition and advisers. The two most prominent deals were with the ESB Group, for the transfer of ex-Goldshire surplus weaponry[8] and with the Shirley Stock Fund of Passio-Corum[9] for a significant quantity of new arms, ammunition and even custom built warships.
| Weapon/Munition Type | Quantity | Supplier |
|---|---|---|
| Northman Class Corvette | 15 | Shirley Stock Fund |
| P62 Rifles | 15,000 | Shirley Stock Fund |
| P62 Rifles w/ Grenade Launchers | 11,250 | Shirley Stock Fund |
| P62 Commandos | 9,783 | Shirley Stock Fund |
| P62 Coverts | 9,000 | Shirley Stock Fund |
| Shirley 9mm Pistols | 22,500 | Shirley Stock Fund |
| P29 Sniper Rifles | 5,625 | Shirley Stock Fund |
| Vickers Machine Gun | 400 | ESB-Jörmungandr Group |
| M252 81mm mortar | 800 | ESB-Jörmungandr Group |
| FIM-92 Stinger MANPADS | 800 | ESB-Jörmungandr Group |
| FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missile | 800 | ESB-Jörmungandr Group |
| FN MINIMI | 460 | ESB-Jörmungandr Group |
| Bren 7.62x51mm Light Machine Gun | 460 | ESB-Jörmungandr Group |
| Type 87 (automatic) grenade launcher | 46 | ESB-Jörmungandr Group |
| 9K115-2 Metis-M | 1,830 | ESB-Jörmungandr Group |
| Glock 9x19mm Pistol | 3,600 | ESB-Jörmungandr Group |
| Bolo Knife | 3,600 | ESB-Jörmungandr Group |
| RPG-29 | 5,000 | ESB-Jörmungandr Group |
| AKM 7.62mm assault rifle | 5,960 | ESB-Jörmungandr Group |
| M67 fragmentation grenades | 26,200 | ESB-Jörmungandr Group |
| 7.62mm ammunition | 90,000 rounds | ESB-Jörmungandr Group |
| 9mm ammunition | 100,000 rounds | ESB-Jörmungandr Group |
After the ESB-Jörmungandr Group acquired the lease on two Natopian Defence Ministry Dingo variant Shuttles[10][11], most arms and ammunition was shipped into Constancian territory via an air bridge that linked the Constancian capital Vey with the ESB administered Shirerithian colony of Ura'Bos. Chartered commercial airliners also flew cargo flights into Vey from ESB depots in Goldshire and Elwynn, however these were more vulnerable to interception and thus were relegated to carrying less mission critical items of equipment. The ESB-Jörmungandr Group mission to provide ongoing logistical support to the Constancian Armed Forces was known as Operation Ithaca[12].
Calbain involvement
On the early morning of May 10th, the High Council of Calbion announced that it would militarily support Jingdao and would send two aircraft carriers, the CNS Llywelyn V and the CNS Owain I, to the Euran continent. The vessels were deployed that same day, proving support for a Jingdaoese invasion. In addition to this, the High Council also decreed a partial mobilisation of all Calbain males under the age of 28.[13]
The High Councilor for Foreign Relations further denounced the Constancian nation as "a force of evil" and accused their government of warmongering.
Calbion officially declared war on Constancia later that day in support of Jingdao, an ally and fellow member of the Blackrock Pact.[14]
Natopian involvement
After several pleas of high-placed officials, and the Basileusa of Constancia herself [15], to the Pentheros of the Dozan Bovic Church in Natopia, the Bovic Church decided to support the war efforts of the Constancians with the establishment of the Naval Phalanx. On the 12th, the Phalax joined the fighting at the Constancian side [16].
The Battle of Portus Felix
By the 11th of May, the capital ships of the Imperial Jingdaoese Navy, after being delayed by the need to improvise mine-sweeping operations, had reached firing positions in the deep channels of the Sandy River from whence they began a sustained cruise missile bombardment of the Constancian military airfields and radar installations.
The bombardment was intended to suppress the Constancian defences as a prelude to a riverine amphibious invasion led by the Jingdaoese Marshal Xi.
This attack was met by a desperate counter-sortie by the Constancian Navy's reserve of light attack boats, mounting effectively a suicide charge against the screen of armed trawlers and corvettes protecting the Jingdaoese capital ships. Although wreaking havoc upon the escort ships, the attack ultimately failed to penetrate through to the heavy warships or to the troop transports, and this proved to be crucial, as from these the invasion forces now disembarked and, on the 12th of May, began to land in large numbers north of Portus Felix. The resistance of the Home Guard Banda assigned to protect that stretch of the river was spirit and inflicted heavy casualties on the landing forces, however ultimately the Jingdaoese were ashore in divisional and eventually in corps strength formations with armour and artillery in such numbers that the defenders were swept aside and their defences literally bulldozed. From this beachhead the Jingdaoese staged a deft sickle cut southwards isolating the town from the rest of the Kingdom.
Only by desperate fighting was an armoured thrust by the Jingdaoese Fifth Panzer division prevented from breaching the city walls and breaking into the centre of the town.
The most successful attempt at breaching the defensive perimeter around Portus Felix occurred when Tyrenian special forces, posing as deserters, set off a series of bombs in front of the headquarters of the 49th Bandon of the 9th Infantry Tagma in the Constancian Army, thereby killing around forty-five soldiers. [17].
After a bitter struggle which cost the Jingdaoese around 10,000 KIA along with the destruction of five panzers and the loss of a frigate and nine trawlers to losses in the region of 13,000 KIA for the Constancian garrison, together with twelve Scorpion light tanks destroyed and the loss of forty-nine fibreglass attack boats, the survivors of the Constancian Army and its auxiliaries abandoned the town, which was subsequently fire-bombed, on the 15th of May 2016. The survivors of the regular infantry, although successful in fighting their way clear, were now in some considerable disorder and had been obliged to abandon or destroy most of their heavy equipment as fuel and ammunition ran short.
The Logistics war
The Jingdaoese were quick to exploit their advantage, devising a plan to land heavy cargo aircraft onto hastily prepared dirt runways, aiming to reinforce the precarious bridgehead with up to 5,000 infantry, together with ammo and stores a day. The Constancians estimated that the invaders would need 500 tons a day, including food and medicines, in order to keep an army of any size in the field.
The Constancian Home Guard in the meantime was able to rely on interior lines of communication and to augment their rations by living off the land. At the same time the Constancian peasantry was tasked with herding livestock northwards to Vey and to destroy any crops in the fields or the granaries that were liable to fall into enemy hands.
The Constancian Armed Forces, regrouping after the first hard battle, began to focus on isolating the invaders from reinforcement and resupply by reducing the bridgehead and interrupting the supply chain.
After the declaration of war, the Constancian Armed Forces began to cast around for arms and munitions, this included the investigation of options to purchase warships to augment the riverine element of the Constancian Navy, which prior to the war lacked the means with which to conduct blue water maritime operations. Contact with the Greater Pallisican Trade Association resulted in the purchase of 15 Northman Class Corvettes, modified at the request of Strategos Metaxas to include anti-ship missile launchers. Although the Constancian Navy was able to fly crews out to take command of the vessels, the first of which was dispatched to the Shirerithian island of Ura'Bos, where the ESB Corporation had established a colony, the Jingdaoese domination of the lower reaches of the Sandy River and subsequent occupation of Portus Felix, precluded their return to the home theatre.
The decision therefore was made to utilise these new vessels in conjunction with the letters of marque issued by the Constancian Government to the ESB Corporation to wage a campaign of commerce raiding against Jingdao and its allies.
The Bridgehead established
With a bridgehead secured, the Grand Secretariat ordered the mass deployment of the National Protection Army into Constancia. 5,000 infantrymen and tank crews were scheduled to arrive at the airport on a daily basis along with ammunitions, food supplies and even more panzers.
The agents of the Tegong also set to work recruiting from the neighbouring barbarian tribes and nomads for a force of local levies, known, with an eye for propaganda as much as anything, as the 'Imperial Constancian Volunteers.' This force was to be led by a disaffected minor royal, Prince Alexius of Constancia, who was reportedly being groomed by the Tegong to serve as a puppet ruler.
Operation Dragon
Following the defeat of the small regular Constancian Army in the Battle of Portus Felix, mitigated only by the success it had in fighting its way clear from encirclement on the 15th and 16th of May, the burden of the fighting would now fall squarely on the 1,500,000 strong Home Guard, as well as any ad hoc militias and resistance groups raised as the war wore on.
The Home Guard plan was to have 600,000 men assigned to the Basileusoi Army in the Prosgeiosi Basileus (Crown Lands), the Army of Eura at Ad Pontes in Coele-Eura and the River Army at Portus Felix. The remaining 700,000 men formed the Army of Vey, responsible for the defence of the city of Vey and its surrounding Thematic province of the same name.
The rapid isolation of Portus Felix from the rest of the country had forced the River Army to establish its headquarters and mobilisation centre at the city of Elaion in the Theme (province) of Vey. The Exubitors were thus obliged, from the outset of the invasion, to rush Home Guard detachments south from Petros and Vey which coalesced into the 1st and 2nd Home Guard Corps on the 17th of May, as they arrived and took up positions facing the leading edge of the deployment zone of the Jingdaoese National Peoples Army.
On the 18th of May, at 6am in the morning, Autokrator Metaxas directed the 1st Corps under Strategos Alexios Paxos and the 2nd Corps under Strategos George Maniakes to go onto the offensive. The 1st Corps comprised of 124 infantry banda (49,600 men) and 400 specialists trained by the ESB who were assigned to operate 'Pexihans Funnies' a contingent of 100 improvised armoured vehicles (performance, apperance equipped with a forward firing 290mm Petard mortar and carrying the Hedgehog device which could fire 24 spigot mortars simultaneously, lobbing a barrage of mortar rounds in a salvo ahead of the armoured vehicle, The 2nd Corps comprised of 125 infantry banda (50,000 men) supported by the remaining Eurocopter EC135 helicopters of the Constancian Air Forces Gamma Squadron, which dropped barrel bombs packed with scrap metal and high explosive and chlorine cannisters onto the positions of the 1st Army of the NPA. Both Corps were supported by the ESB's Directorate of Security which had set up 72 improvised Hell Cannons, that hurled explosive filled gas cannisters over a distance of one and a half kilometres, into a series of batteries to pulverise enemy trenches and gun emplacements.
Their objective was to disrupt the deployment of the NPA and, if able, to push on to the original landing zone north of Portus Felix.
Battle of Dromosker Island
On the morning of the 18th of June, a strong force of eight Constancian Corvettes approached Dromosker Island, which was occupied by the Jingdaoese protectorate known as the Maritime Free Republic and surprised the two armed merchantmen, the Bucentaure & Trinidad which guarded Trader's Bay, the main colonial settlement on the island.
The Bucentaure and the Trinidad received reports at dawn of four corvettes from the Constancian 9th Flotilla moving up the straits between two islands occupied by Lostisland and the Greater Pallisican Trade Association to their east. Having sailed out of harbour to meet this threat, the two merchantmen were then surprised by the arrival of the 1st Constancian Flotilla which had sailed round to the west of the Pallisican island and which struck the Bucentaure with a Harpoon anti-ship missile, causing fires on the ship that burned uncontrollably and forced its abandonment. The Trinidad continued on towards the reported location of the 9th Flotilla where it in turn came under long range missile fire. However the Trinidad was fitted with a purloined Bofors 40 mm autocannon as its main armament which doubled as a close-in weapon system (CIWS) allowing it to defeat the incoming harpoon missiles - the unfamiliarity of the Constancians with the weapons system they were operating also played a part as only one of the missiles launched came into a range where it was engaged by the onboard CIWS. The Trinidad and the 9th Flotilla continued to close until they came into visual range.
The Trinidad found itself isolated and cut off from Trader's Bay by the arrival of the 1st Flotilla to its rear which closed at speed and began engaging the vessel with their main batteries, a pair of 40mm autocannons mounted on the superstructure of the corvette towards the stern of the corvettes. The Trinidad, although pounded and heavily raked by combined fire power of the far larger opposing force was a converted merchantman that carried an irregular variety of heavy weapons, such as TOW missile launchers and recoilless rifles. more conventionally seen used in land warfare, mounted at various points on the ship and covered in improvised armour. As such it was able to give a good fight.
Captain-General Walter Poldark, the governor of the island, meanwhile had learned of the burning and abandonment of the Bucentaure and received word of the dire predicament of the Trinidad, obliging him to put to see with the full force of the Captain-General's Flotilla, a full blown naval battle ensued.
Captain-General's Flotilla
| Name | Vessel Type | Captain | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|
| MFRS Jahangir Plan | Urga Class Submarine Tender | Captain Lewis | Damaged |
| MFRS Random | Modernized Ironclad | Captain Roderick | Sunk |
| MFRS Roheline | Modernized Ironclad | Captain Flaxen | Damaged, returned to port |
| MFRS Trinidad | Armed Merchantman | Captain Nestor | Surrendered |
| MFRS Bucentaure | Armed Mechantman | Captain Ryujo | Abandoned at Sea |
1st Flotilla, Constancian Navy
| Name | Vessel Type | Captain | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Navarchos Miaoulis | Antiploiarchos Georgios Kondylis | Northman Class Corvette | bridge destroyed by TOW missile. Command crew killed. Vessel recovered under tow by the Lemnos. |
| Georgios Averof | Plotarchis Vasilefs Konstantinos | Northman Class Corvette | Superficial damage |
| Lemnos | Ypoploiarchos Athanasios Eftaxias | Northman Class Corvette | Undamaged |
| Kilkis | Ypoploiarchos Theodoros Pangalos | Northman Class Corvette | Undamaged |
9th Flotilla, Constancian Navy
| Name | Vessel Type | Captain | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hydra | Antiploiarchos Pavlos Kountouriotis | Northman Class Corvette | Damaged. |
| Psara | Plotarchis Alexandros Zaimis | Northman Class Corvette | Heavily damaged. Scuttled at sea. Crew recovered. |
| Spetsai | Ypoploiarchos Michael Kourtikios | Northman Class Corvette | Light damage from small arms fire. |
| Elli | Ypoploiarchos Eumathios Philokales | Northman Class Corvette | Undamaged. |
Disturbances in Walstadt
On the 17th of May, Heinrich Rasmus, the Kattei Emperor, announced his intention to visit Walstadt (a self-governing demesne of Natopia) on the continent of Cibola for the purpose of meeting his kinsman, the Great Enlightened King, Welf Blutwasser-Ayreon-Kalirion, to discuss unspecified matters. Of note however was the announcement of the Jingdaoese Empire that the son of Welf, another Heinrich, was recognised by the childless Kattei Emperor as his designated heir. The Emperor was assigned a suite of rooms at the Zauberförde under the protection of Lord Adam Ayreon-Kalirion whose mother, Noor was Queen of Goldshire and a patron of the ESB-Jörmungandr Group. At the time of the Emperor's visit, Noor was in residence at the Zauberförde visiting her son who was enjoying a brief respite from the rigours of the Youth Boarding School of Walstadt's Jugendinternat regime.
Walstadt, like most of Natopia, was officially neutral in the Euran War, although its government had taken the strongest stance in condemning the decision of the Dozan Bovic Church to join the Euran War[18] and in this it was matched by the Unified Church of Walstadt[19] which denounced those acts it saw as inflaming tensions between residents of Walstadt who followed the divergent Jingdaoese and Natopian religious traditions.
On the 21st of May, a Goldshire registered trading barque, the Seahawk, owned by the ESB Group entered the Whaling Harbour of Walstadt with the stated purpose of buying up provisions for the company's southern-hemisphere outpost on the obscure Shirerithian island of Ura'Bos[20]. The refusal of Welf to acknowledge letters of credit offered by the company resulted in protests by the visiting mariners which saw the residence of the King, House Walstadt, pelted with petrol bombs and subsequently burned to the ground. In the ensuing mêlée, a Shirerithian sailor was stabbed in the back with a harpoon wielded by one of the King's guardsmen.
After a night of arson, looting and mayhem, the sailors moved on from the ransacked warehouses and customs house, where they had left letters of credit nailed to the rafters, to lay siege to the Zauberförde.
War crimes
12th of May 2016: Jingdaoese Panzer Division uses non-combatant prisoners as human-shields in attack on Portus Felix [21]. Constancian refugees abducted by Imperial Jingdaoese Navy.
13th of May 2016: Grand Marshal Xi delivered an ultimatum [22] threatening the use of thermobaric (air-fuel) bombs against civilian population centres if Portus Felix continues resistance. Constancian Army uses chemical weapons in an attempt to break siege of Portus Felix.
14th of May 2016: Tyrenian Special Forces, from the Gladio Unit of the Tyrenian Navy launched a suicide bomb attack against a Bandon (roughly equivalent to a Battalion) command post on the outskirts of Portus Felix, killing forty-five men in addition to the six man attack squad. Constancians respond with a shoot to kill policy towards Jingdaoese troops attempting to surrender.
15th of May 2016: Jingdaoese Naval Aviation deployed three combat jets on a kamikaze mission to attack Portus Felix with thermobaric weapons. The attack inflicted mass casualties on the civilian population and garrison and caused a collapse in the command hierarchy and communications network of the forces encircled in the town.
16th of May 2016: More reported abductions of captured civilians by Jingdaoese forces operating in the Portus Felix area. Many of the civilians are forced to cooperate with the authorities or undergo severe punishment by having to listen to the Eurovision song of Ukraine [23].
Forum links
- Bringing down Constancia
- Declaration of War
- Imperial Union of Constancia
- The fleet approaches Constancia
- Leaked memo to Marshal Xi
- An ultimatum has been sent to Portus Felix (13/05/2016)
- Reinforcing the airstrips near Pontus Felix (16/06/2016)
- Pontus Felix, Itl Airport (16/05/2016)
- Operation Dragon, Constancian Counter-Offensive (18/05/2016)
