Charlottesborg Mutiny: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| (15 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown) | |||
Line 25:
| commander1 = {{flagicon image|DuchyFlag.png}} Auro Panariello
| commander2 = {{flagicon image|DuchyFlag.png}} Louisa Reitz
{{flagicon image|CryriaFlag.png}} Ludvig of House Leidensen
| commander3 =
| units1 = {{flagicon image|DuchyFlag.png}} Ducal Guard
Line 43 ⟶ 44:
* 1st Infantry Battalion
* 2nd Infantry Battalion
* 3rd Infantry Battalion
{{flagicon image|CryriaFlag.png}} CID
Line 52 ⟶ 54:
| strength2 = {{flagicon image|DuchyFlag.png}} 15,000-20,000 soldiers and policemen*
{{flagicon image|CryriaFlag.png}} 1,
{{flagicon image|CryriaFlag.png}} 100 Flygbasjägarna
| casualties1 = {{flagicon image|DuchyFlag.png}} 300+ rebels
| casualties2 = {{flagicon image|DuchyFlag.png}} 200+ Ducal Guard
{{flagicon image|DuchyFlag.png}} 100+ Gendarmerie
{{flagicon image|CryriaFlag.png}} 9 soldiers killed, 40 wounded
| notes = <nowiki>*</nowiki>Majority of 55,000 strong Ducal Guard remains nominally loyal
| campaignbox =
Line 96 ⟶ 100:
<p><strong><em>Brigadgeneral Auro Panariello, </em></strong>21 October, 2002</p>
}}The Committee for Justice and Salvation was formed as a provisional government in Sargos immediately after the declaration, with Panariello as its President. Despite the invocation of the Volscine Confederation, Panariello never requested assistance from outside the Duchy. It is believed that he sought to strengthen his own position by capturing Charlottesborg himself before negotiating a favorable reentry to the Confederation.
==== Capture of Charlottesborg International ====
Line 175 ⟶ 179:
On the afternoon of October 22nd, an envoy claiming to represent the Committee arrived at the Consulate. He identified himself as ''Kapten'' Gösta Edström and demanded that the Consulate staff surrender themselves to rebel custody. Edström claimed that members of the diplomatic mission would be escorted to Charlottesborg International Airport and placed on flights back to Cryria - Though at this time the airport was still cut off from other rebel forces. The Consul General further noted that Edström had offered little evidence that he actually represented the Committee's wishes, and that the Consulate would effectively be surrendered into the hands of an unknown party which was already in considerable disarray. Maravel pressed for time in order to contact Leidenstad for orders, and according to surviving eyewitnesses Edström "Departed in a fury" at the rejection.
Approximately half an hour later, a full company of soldiers was seen arriving and encircling the consulate. The demand to surrender was reiterated, but shots were heard soon afterwards. These likely originated from another skirmish that had broken out nearby, but the Mutineers quickly opened fire on the Consulate with their armored vehicles. A building fire broke out with catastrophic consequences due to how packed the Consulate had become. The assailants were slow to cease their fire and the Cryrian
The sight of the burning Consulate set off a frenzy in both Charlottesborg and Leidenstad. Initially the Committee released confused and contradictory statements, first claiming that the Consulate had been used to support the Loyalists and later claiming that the attack had been the result of an accidental escalation by local commanders who had overstepped their boundaries. The deaths of so many Cryrian nationals and the destruction of a diplomatic outpost caused a outrage, condemnations, and calls for action in Cryria which the Duchy quickly sought to capitalize on.
Line 198 ⟶ 202:
An emergency National Security Committee meeting was held in Karsholm Palace on the 22nd, and by the 23rd it had been all but decided that the CDF would launch a limited operation to retrieve remaining Cryrian citizens in Charlottesborg. However, this plan was quickly faced with stark obstacles.
The situation in Charlottesborg had become increasingly complicated and confused, in no small part due to the large numbers of poorly disciplined and often desperate territorial forces that filled the ranks of the Ducal Guard. The mutineers had further found their command decapitated and were struggling to reorganize, while the loyalists themselves were still struggling to regain control of the situation in the city. Neither the Cryrian
It is known that Leidenstad also reached out to remnants of the Volscine Confederation and the newly forming Volscine Empire in order to offer assurances that it would not seek to involve itself further in the conflict beyond the evacuation. The Confederation rejected any notion of Cryrian involvement on what it still considered to be sovereign Volscine territory, while the Empire agreed to provide its approval. This ultimately led to Leidenstad recognizing the Empire as the legitimate Volscine government, thus legitimizing the operation.
Line 212 ⟶ 216:
The airport's defenders had anticipated a possible attempt to retake the facility and had placed makeshift obstacles on the runways to prevent hostile aircraft from landing on it. As such, the initial capture of the airport would require a parachute drop by the Flygbasjägarna, a special forces unit belonging to the Cryrian Air Force. According to post-war statements by the Ducal Guard, elements of the CID Direct Action Group which had been present in Charlottesborg since before the Mutiny were tasked with providing ground-side support for the air operations and coordinating local loyalist units that would assist in retaking the airport.
Operation Caroline - So named after the historical Queen Charlotte's chief general - Began at 1:00 am on October 24 with a flurry of activity around the Talvere Defense Area. Aircraft were launched from multiple bases on the island - Two transports to deliver the FBJ paratroopers, a squadron of JAS 39A Gripen from the 4th Fighter Wing, and an Örn 2000 AEW&C to provide support. CIDDAG forward air controllers guided in a series of airstrikes by the Gripens against the rebel positions at the airport just ahead of the FBJ parachute drop. The RCRAF would continue to provide air cover and protection for flights to and from Charlottesborg International for the remainder of the operation, although it performed no further combat operations.
[[File:AirportBattle.png|thumb|Artist's depiction of the Battle of Charlottesborg International]]
The battle for the airport began inauspiciously with one Cryrian paratrooper injured in the jump. The operation further suffered from the poor quality of the roughly 800 infantry provided by the Ducal Guard which had advanced on the airport in tandem with the Cryrian attacks. Cryrian commanders had planned around this expectation and largely relied on the FBJ to seize the most difficult objectives. After an hour of fierce fighting five Cryrians had been killed and another ten wounded - Severe losses for the FBJ, which was a highly specialized unit with a strength of around a hundred. The airport's defenders were able to withdraw in good order to its military enclave. Minister for Defense Rolf Lindgren later remarked on the opening stages of Caroline:{{quote|Sending the Flygbasjägarna to fight the rebels was like using fine wine to mop the floor. It was a sign of our desperation and a demonstration of how the CDF's expeditionary units were about to be pushed to their breaking point.}}The Cryrians deemed the remaining rebels incapable of threatening the runways and were unwilling to risk further losses by completely clearing the airport. The enclave was instead picketed by the Guardsmen while the FBJ hastened to remove the obstructions on the runways - At one point even hotwiring vehicles that had been positioned as makeshift barricades.
Line 230 ⟶ 233:
By the end of October 25, Charlottesborg International was fully secured by the joint Cryrian-Charlottesborger forces. Events during and after the seizure of the airport had badly damaged relations between the two forces however, and would continue to plague the remainder of the operation. Many of the remaining Cryrian citizens in the Duchy were believed to be sheltering at the University of Charlottesborg campus as either students or faculty. However, many others had been at the airport when the coup had begun and had been forced to leave when the rebels seized the facility. These individuals, among others, were effectively scattered and their locations were unknown to the CDF.
The Cryrian government had made arrangements with the Loyalists for their assistance in retrieving and transporting Cryrian citizens to the airport in exchange for Cryrian arms and supplies.
Additionally, based on the actions and performance of the Ducal Guard, commanders in Leidenstad elected to dispatch the 1st Infantry Battalion of the Foreign Legion to reinforce the 2nd and to provide greater oversight for the evacuation. The 1st had already been on standby for this purpose, and arrived on October 26th.
In order to support this force, facilitate the evacuation, and deliver the promised armaments to the Duchy, the CDF made use of cargo and passenger aircraft belonging to the government-owned Royal Cryrian Airways. Further plans had been made to use the Mobilization Act to requisition other Cryrian-registered aircraft if needed, but these were ultimately not carried out.
Throughout October 26, Charlottesborg International received a steady stream of prepared supplies and reinforcements. Elsewhere in the Duchy, the situation had also begun to stabilize. Loyalist forces now fully held the initiative, particularly as the Ducal government fostered rumors that Cryrian forces would assist in retaking the rest of Charlottesborg and that large-scale RCRAF bombing was soon to begin. The Mutineers remained in a state of disarray following Panariello's death, and began to surrender in several key areas after the morale blow of foreign intervention. Many officers and units that had remained on the sidelines also now aligned with the Loyalists, and it was expected that significant opposition would dissolve within a week. It is believed that Cryrian air reconnaissance was used to support the Loyalists and that CIDDAG units continued to assist in operations on the ground, but neither have ever been confirmed by the Cryrian government.
===== October 27 =====
By October 27, the city of Charlottesborg was effectively secured, and operations began to extract Cryrian citizens from the University. Although Cryrian forces had arrived with few vehicles, they serendipitously found the airport's fleet of shuttles and buses to be intact. This led to a change of plans where Cryrian forces would play a much more direct role in the extraction than previously anticipated, in part because the Ducal Guard was now seen as increasingly dangerous and unreliable. Cryrian soldiers who partook in the operation later stated that the Guardsmen present at the airport had begun demanding to know if they would be evacuated from the wartorn Duchy as well. Leidenstad however was required to reject any such requests in order to avoid alienating or weakening the Ducal government. To make matters worse, large numbers of Charlottesborgers who were not authorized for evacuation had begun to gather around the airport's perimeter now that the fighting was over in the hopes of escaping themselves. Serious questions arose regarding whether the Ducal Guard was prepared to assist with keeping the crowds out. The Duchy ultimately responded to these concerns by removing the territorial forces at the airport and replacing them with professional Guardsmen who had been freed up from the fighting with the rebels - Although it is believed that the Duchy itself feared that arriving arms shipments would be lost if left to the conscripted territorials.
The Cryrian General Staff also decided to move in a third Foreign Legion battalion starting on the 27th. By this point the majority of the Legion's combat arms were engaged in Charlottesborg, albeit without any of the supporting elements needed to operate beyond the airport.
The actual evacuation from the University went relatively smoothly, and was overseen by CIDDAG operatives and the remaining Flygbasjägarna units. By the end of the 27th, Charlottesborg International was home to a steady stream of flights bringing in arms, reinforcements, and supplies while flying out the evacuees. In Cryria however, the requisition of so many civilian aircraft led to a state if disarray in the nation's transportation system. By now many of the requisitioned aircraft had effectively been out of circulation and on standby for nearly a week. Royal Cryrian Airways' cargo line had effectively ceased to exist in a civilian capacity, while many of its passenger flights were also now canceled. RCA was also an important provider of domestic flights within [[Älemsi Negdel]] which relied heavily on air travel to connect its vast and underdeveloped interior. Many of the aircraft dedicated to this role had been diverted to Operation Caroline in order to reduce the impacts on Cryrian travel. While this decision did serve to protect the Kingdom's own flights, it had a disproportionate impact on Älemsi Negdel and damaged ties between Leidenstad and Amrakh Gazarv. Between Operation Caroline and the Second Yeralik Crisis, RCA was effectively driven out of the Älemsi market by the end of 2002. International travel to and from [[Aikthudr'zhur]] similarly also badly suffered, and ticket prices around the region spiked.
===== October 28-31 =====
While the University had been evacuated, CIDDAG and FBJ units continued to conduct operations to track down and extract scattered Cryrian civilians in Charlottesborg and beyond. Political pressure in Leidenstad led to the "No Empty Seats" policy, where every flight departing the airport was required to use any spare capacity to evacuate Charlottesborgers regardless of their citizenship status. Any evacuees would first need to be authorized by the Ducal government as well however, and many continued to be turned away.
Thus, the situation at the airport remained tense. Panic had spread among the gathering crowds as it became apparent that many would not be offered a chance to escape, particularly those deemed "Militarily fit" by the Duchy. Many people attempted to climb the airport's perimeter walls starting on the 28th, and CDF, Ducal Guard, and Gendarmerie personnel used smoke grenades and fired warning shots to disperse them. Two armed individuals were shot when they opened fire on a Cryrian checkpoint, and three bodies were later found of people who likely died during a stampede.
===== November 1-3 =====
By November 1, Charlottesborger forces had regained control over most of the Duchy with the surrender of the besieged rebels at the Tellale Barracks. Surviving Committee members were found to have fled the territory, and the remaining Mutineers had surrendered. Despite several high profile executions, numerous amnesties were quietly offered by the Duchy. Controversially, it is also thought that the Duchy actively sought to approve the evacuations of potentially disloyal Charlottesborgers in order to effectively offload them on the Cryrian government.
Regardless, the Cryrian presence itself was beginning to wrap up, in part because of the mounting pressure at the airport, and in part because those Cryrian citizens willing to evacuate had by now departed. The FBJ, who had been the first ones into Charlottesborg Airport, were also the last to depart on November 3, though it is thought that CIDDAG units remained within the Duchy throughout the Civil War.
== Aftermath ==
=== Charlottesborg ===
Although the Duchess prevailed in quelling the Mutiny, her government was left badly shaken by it. Many of Charlottesborg's best military forces had either rebelled or been damaged in the fighting, and it was not until November 20th that the Loyalists proclaimed a complete victory. Over the course of the fighting, the Loyalists had suffered over a three-hundred casualties and claimed to have inflicted similar losses on the Mutineers - A for cry from what many had expected to be a bloodless coup. Over 1,200 civilians are also believed to have been killed, many of them during the later stages of the fighting as both sides had become increasingly incapable of maintaining control or discipline of their troops.
The Mutiny would effectively end the Duchy's policy of neutrality in the Volscine Civil War. Despite mutual cooperation with Cryria both during and after the Mutiny, relations between the two government had badly soured over the conflict, and any hopes of unification with the Kingdom were abandoned. Similarly, the Confederation was no longer viewed as an acceptable option. The Duchess formally recognized the Volscine Empire as the new legitimate government, and continued to support it for the remainder of the conflict.
=== Cryria ===
Operation Caroline was by far the largest overseas military operation conducted by the Kingdom since the end of the Great War. At its height, over 2,000 Cryrian personnel had been deployed in Charlottesborg, and it is believed that Leidenstad continued to provide both aid and advisors to the Guard for the remainder of the Civil War.
The operation was ultimately successful in evacuating some 1,200 individuals who either held Cryrian citizenship or residency, or were direct familymembers of Cryrian citizens or residents. Additionally, by November 20th, Cryria had also received some 39,000 asylum seekers from Charlottesborg, either through the evacuation or by separate, independently sponsored sealifts. After the 20th, the Duchy reimposed its draconian exit bans, likely with the quiet approval of the Cryrian government whose floundering economy would continue to struggle with ever rising numbers of Volscine refugees over the coming years. Many of those who fled Charlottesborg would be resettled in southern Talvere, where thousands would ultimately be granted permanent residency or citizenship. The rebel soldiers captured at Charlottesborg International were ultimately returned to the Duchy, and their ultimate fate remains unknown.
While generally considered a success, Operation Caroline shed light on serious flaws and deficiencies in the Cryrian military. Despite its large size and funding, the CDF had displayed the severe limits on its ability to project force, and its reliance on small numbers of expeditionary units to protect Cryrian interests abroad. The need to contend with a difficult economic situation at home and the Second Yeralik Crisis in the north meant that these issues could not be contended with, and the political impetus to transform the CDF into a more capable regional force evaporated with the end of the Volscine Civil War. Operation Caroline also faced heavy criticism for poor planning and high degrees of risk. The Operation relied heavily on allies within the Ducal Guard who ultimately proved to be either lacking or nearly hostile, a fact which left Leidenstad rushing to reinforce what should have been a small deployment to assist the Guard. The last minute change towards a larger evacuation of Charlottesborgers has also been scrutinized, and the chaos which erupted towards the end of the evacuation is frequently attributed to this decision. Defense Minister Lindgren later described the operation as "Running on a shoestring" and claimed that Cryrian forces had been "Incredibly lucky that the enemy had not been more prepared and that other Volscine factions did not choose to destroy them."
The Marlberg Government also undertook several inquiries regarding its failure to evacuate Cryrian citizens prior to the outbreak of hostilities, but this was ultimately blamed on both the paralysis of the previous Schauman Government and the obstinacy of the Duchy. Domestically, Operation Caroline served to restore badly shaken faith in the Marlberg Government. This, along with the progressively less uncertain economic situation following the first months of the Volscine collapse provided Prime Minister Marlberg with the political capital needed to later make concessions in the Second Yeralik Crisis. Despite behind-the-scenes tensions, Operation Caroline served to heal public perceptions of both Volscina and Charlottesborg, particularly as the Marlberg Government actively sought to create an narrative of Cryrian-Charlottesborger cooperation against dangerous revolutionaries. Images of the future Duchess Saga Tynam drinking coffee with an unknown Volscine officer at a [[Royal Rodokan Coffee Company|Royal Rodokan]] in the ruined airport terminal quickly became the unofficial face of the operation. Operation Caroline also saw the single largest distribution of knighthoods since the Great War. Ten such titles were awarded, mostly to members of the FBJ who were injured in the initial assault.
The Charlottesborg Mutiny and Operation Caroline proved to be a pivotal moment in Cryrian policy towards the Volscine Civil War. By its conclusion, the Kingdom had formally denounced the Confederation as illegitimate and recognized the new Empire as the sole Volscine government.
[[Category:Cryria's Pages]]
| |||