Charlottesborg Mutiny: Difference between revisions
→October 25
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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.
As soon as the runways were clear the first reinforcing transports began to land. These brought with them a full infantry battalion of the Foreign Legion under the command of ''Överste'' Daksh Thakre to establish the Cryrian foothold at the airport. The earlier parachute assault and subsequent airlift placed considerable strain upon Cryrian airlift capabilities, and preparations had been made to requisition additional transports from
Intermittent exchanges of fire at the airport continued throughout the remainder of the 24th.
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===== October 25 =====
Charlottesborg International was not fully cleared until October 25, when the newly arrived Foreign Legion spearheaded a push against the Military Enclave. The remaining defenders - Some fifty in all - quickly surrendered. Guardsmen partaking in the operation ]demanded the summary execution of the prisoners on grounds that as terrorists they were unlawful combatants who were not protected by the customs of war. This was rejected by Thakre, who feared that such an action would draw further Volscine ire against the Cryrian detachment in Charlottesborg. A furious argument broke out and reportedly came to physical blows when Sandell ordered that the prisoners be flown back to Cryria on a departing transport. Thakre later remarked on the confrontation at a Riksdag hearing after the Operation:{{quote|I informed Överste Favale that the surviving GSOG elements had surrendered into Cryrian custody and that I was unwilling to risk Cryrian lives or tarnish the Försvarsmakten's reputation by allowing such a massacre. I further informed Överste Favale that any decision to hand the prisoners over to Charlottesborger custody would need to be made by my superiors in Leidenstad. At that point he struck me, and Löjtnant Tynam drew her weapon in response. We deescalated the situation and came to an understanding shortly thereafter.}}
==== Evacuation ====
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. 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. These would now need to be flown in before the evacuation could begin. 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.
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