Battle of Lyndon Ridge

Battle of Lyndon Ridge
Part of the Ochoccola War
Ochoccolan anti-tank missiles on Lyndon Ridge, two days before the battle
Date 17–18 May 1994 Location Lyndon Ridge, Ochoccola Result Ochoccolan victory
Belligerents
Cuthland-Waldrich	Ochoccola
Units involved
2nd Battalion, Royal Wynndale Rifles	7th Armored Brigade
Strength
500	4,300
Casualties and losses
64 killed 258 wounded 83 captured	15 killed 70 wounded
2 civilians killed

The Battle of Lyndon Ridge was a military engagement fought between Cutho-Waldish and Ochoccolan forces during the Ochoccola War. The battle occurred when A Company, 2nd Battalion, Royal Wynndale Rifles of the Royal Cutho-Waldish Army seized a lightly defended Ochoccolan outpost located on Lyndon Ridge, a key terrain feature overlooking the port city of Pinhoti. Cutho-Waldish commanders hoped to lure Ochoccolan forces out of their defensive positions in Pinhoti and provoke them into counterattacking, allowing for their destruction in open terrain using the reserve elements of 2nd Battalion supported by artillery and mortar fire. Although the intelligence provided to 2nd Battalion indicated that Pinhoti was defended by no more than a battalion of light infantry, Lyndon Ridge soon came under attack by the entirety of the Ochoccolan 7th Armored Brigade. A Company was quickly overrun, forcing the remainder of 2nd Battalion to withdraw from the ridge and abandon the operation. The battle resulted in nearly 75% casualties for 2nd Battalion, with A Company sustaining upwards of 90%. A total of five Cutho-Waldish soldiers were awarded the Order of Saint Wybert for their actions during the battle, three of which were awarded posthumously.

In Cuthland-Waldrich, the subsequent military investigation found that senior ground commanders at the brigade and division level had repeatedly ignored intelligence reports indicating the presence of Ochoccolan armor in Pinhoti, and believed that any residual armored units present in the area of operations could be effectively engaged by the 120mm mortar and 155mm artillery assets provided to support the operation. Additionally, the Wittenmoot requested the establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry following a campaign by the families of the soldiers killed in the battle. The results of the commission, which were released to the public in 1997, found that the rigidity of the military planning process had bred a culture where field-grade and general officers were unwilling to refine or abort operations that were already in the advanced stages of planning, even in light of new intelligence. The commission also criticized the lack of fire support knowledge among maneuver commanders, who vastly overestimated the effectiveness of artillery and mortar systems against armored vehicles. The investigations led to reprimands for nine officers, and prompted substantial changes to Cutho-Waldish military doctrine.

Military historians often regard Lyndon Ridge as one of the greatest military disasters in contemporary history. The battle left a substantial impact on popular culture in both Cuthland-Waldrich and around the world, and has been the subject of numerous books, movies, songs, television shows, and video games in subsequent years.