Cacertian August Offensive

Cacertian August Offensive
Part of the Desopya Campaign of the Divide War
HMA Sanreno over the battlefield
Date 6-24 August 1918 Location Makedon, Syara Result Syaran Victory
Belligerents
Cacertian Empire	Republic of Syara
Commanders and leaders
Demetria Marik Isabella Matelizi Bertino Bassadoar Orsa Calderara	Atanas Endekov Grigori Yaponski Dimitar Pankovski Andrev Brehvez Aleksov Sebastian Matić
Strength
500,000 troops 500 tanks 12 airships 212 fighters 44 bombers 1,120 guns 12 rail-batteries	790,000 troops 200 tanks 6 airships 322 fighters 3,265 guns 4 armored trains
Casualties and losses
22,689 killed 64,980 wounded	47,304 killed 144,612 wounded

The Cacertian August Offensive, also know as Marik's Battle (Cacertian: La battaglia di Marik) or Defense of Zovahr (Syaran: Одбрана на Зовахр, Odbrana na Zovahr) was the final decisive operation of the Desopya Campaign during the Divide War. It was launched by the Cacertian Empire under the command of General Demetria Marik against the Army of Syaran Republic along the Alekso Line in Makedon. The objective of the offensive was to break through the Alekso Line and reach Zovahr, the capital of the Republic of Syara, under the belief that its capture would compel the Syarans to surrender. The Cacertians began their offensive on 6 August 1918 along a 175 kilometer front, spearheaded by 500 tanks and armored cars which breached the Alekso Line in several sectors. Supported by tanks, railway artillery batteries, airplanes and airships, the Cacertians succeeded in overrunning the Syaran tactical reserves but ran into increased Syaran resistance as their advance continued. Syaran forces, backed by over 3,000 artillery pieces, four armored trains, hundreds of aircraft, airships of their own, and 200 tanks counter-attacked across the front and succeeded in stalling the Cacertian offensive. Marik regrouped her forces on 18 August and made a final push for Zovahr, but Cacertian forces were halted by Syaran defenses near Viserajk and Rijtek. Although they were just 6 kilometers from Zovahr, the exhausted and depleted Cacertian forces were unable to press any further, and Marik called off the operation as Syaran counter-attacks began unfolding.

The offensive was the last major military action of the war. In the weeks that followed the Cacertians gradually withdrew their forces back towards the Desopya Coastal Plain and began pursuing a cessation of hostilities. The Desopya Campaign would end a month later on 22 September, and the war's end would follow in October. The victory over the Cacertian Empire provoked massive celebrations across Syara and would prove instrumental in the formation of Syaran nationalism in the years that followed the Divide War. For Cacerta, Rijtek would become informally known as the "High-Water Mark of the Empire"; the end of the war would become known as the beginning of the end of the Cacertian Empire. Historically the offensive is often seen to foreshadow the technological warfare that would come to dominate conflicts of the 20th Century. The August Offensive featured large scale usage of tanks, aircraft, and artillery, and involved the first instance of armored combat between tanks on the battlefield. The offensive was correspondingly the bloodiest of the entire war; Syaran and Cacertian casualties amounted to nearly 280,000 troops killed or wounded over the course of the fighting.

Background

By the Spring of 1918 the war was beginning to strain the Cacertian Empire. The logistical demands of supporting over half-a-million troops across on the other side of Siduri were consuming almost half of the tonnage of the Royal Navy, along with rapidly emptying the treasury. News of Syaran resistance to the Cacertian invasion was also stirring rebellious sentiments in Knichus and Arkoenn. After more than a year of war however there was little sign of an impending victory, and mounting casualties were beginning to strain public support for the war. However a withdrawal from the conflict, and by extension a concession of defeat, would risk encouraging revolts against the Empire. Following the failure of the Second Wave in April 1918 to break the deadlock, it was clear that victory was still not close at hand.

In June senior leadership of the Empire met in Vichenza to discuss the war's future. It was agreed that allowing the war to continue into 1919 was unacceptable and that a conclusion needed to be reached before the year ended. One final drive on the Syaran capital of Zovahr would be launched, with the assumption that the Republic would be forced to sue for peace with its epicenter in Cacertian hands. How to conduct the offensive provoked disagreement within Cacertian leadership. Army General Demetria Marik proposed the employment of Cacerta's first armored formations, "tanks" backed up by armored cars, to break the deadlock.

Development of tanks by Cacerta had been spearheaded by Marik since 1915, and the outbreak of the Divide War had encouraged further development. By mid-1918 though the first produced tanks were still very much in their infancy; although Marik had insisted on frequent, realistic training to get crews ready to operate them in battle, they were still untested. Mechanical problems were especially prominent; during some testing cycles mechanical breakdowns had crippled more than half the number of tanks employed. Nevertheless, this was one field where the Cacertians did enjoy advantage. Although the Syarans were aware of Cacertian tank progress, their own development of armored vehicles was trudging along slowly.

Marik proposed a combined-arms offensive to be carried out by a third wave of troops, backed up by armored companies of Padova Type 1 Assault Tanks, later expanded to include Type 2 Assault Tanks as well. The tanks would be accompanied by several Guards Rifle Divisions to assist in the breakthrough, and supported by the railway artillery batteries and airships that had arrived in the second wave. The plan was not entirely well received, with criticism focusing heavily on the untested capability of Cacertian tanks and the strength of Syaran defenses. Despite such misgivings, Empress Elianna gave her approval for Marik to carry out the offensive.

Preparations

Marik began preparing her forces for the offensive in July. Assault tanks were transferred from their training grounds in Sarrista and Knichus and boarded onto transports bound for Allamunnika and then Syara. Fresh Guards Rifle Divisions were redeployed from their posts along the borders with Tennai and Xevden and transported by ship through the Sundering Sea; in some cases civilian ocean liners were requisitioned for this purpose. Although Marik attempted to keep the deployments of her forces a secret, moving so many troops and the distinctly shaped Assault Tanks made it ultimately impossible to prevent the Syarans of learning from Marik's intentions. By 20 July most of Marik's tanks and troops had arrived in Desopya, many of them landing at the occupied port of Sena which had been secured earlier in the year.

Marik drew up her forces across the 175 kilometer front. Between air and land forces Marik could amass around 500,000 troops, backed up by 500 tanks and armored cars, more than 1,100 guns, 12 airships, and around 250 aircraft including fighters and bombers. She could also count on 12 railway artillery guns for mobile support, by employing the Syaran's own railroads against them. Marik's ground forces were organized into eight field armies; the 3rd, 4th, 11th, 12th, and 13th under General Orsa Calderara, and the 5th, 6th, and 9th Armies under General Bertino Bassadoar. Bassadoar's armies, which had been fighting since the first wave in 1917, were badly mauled from months of front line action, forcing Marik to strip away forces from Calderara's 3rd and 4th Armies to reinforce them. She deployed the remnants of the 3rd and 4th Armies as operational reserves while forming a six army front grouped into threes; Bassadoar formed the right section with its flanks on the Xhemal River that flowed from Zovahr, while Calderara's three field armies (11th, 12th, and 13th) were oriented towards Patom in the east.

Marik's decision to pursue a more broad front strategy rather than focusing solely Zovahr was based on strategic and logistical realities. By the summer of 1918 the Syarans had become proficient in shifting their reserves across the front line to react to Cacertian breakthroughs. Singularly focused offensives thus would inevitably be contained and counter-attacks in full. Additionally, after a year of war the infrastructure of northern Makedon was in ruin. Despite Cacertian efforts to repairing the damage, the remaining roads and railways simply couldn't support multiple armies operating on a single axis of advance. The drive towards Patom also deprived the Syarans of the option of shuttling all their reserves towards Zovahr; if they did so, they risked the loss of Patom to the Cacertians who could then swing west and strike the exposed Syaran right flank. Such decision making would, ironically, serve as the basis of Syaran military doctrine for decades after.

Marik planned for the initial offensive to be carried out by her rifle divisions with infiltration support from the Grenadier Battalions. This initial assault, supported by artillery fire, would breach the Alekso Line and create holes for which the second echelon could push through. Once the breaches were made, Marik's armored forces, supported by her Guards Rifle Divisions, would exploit the breakthroughs by breaching the main Syaran defenses and pushing through into the Syaran rear echelon. With their lines breached and assault tanks and Guards rifle troops pouring through, the Syarans were be forced to scatter their reserves across the entire front line. Guided by aircraft and airships for reconnaissance and supported by railway batteries for mobile artillery platforms, the Cacertians would then drive south and capture Zovahr and Patom.

Against Marik's forces was Field Marshal Atanas Endekov, commander of all Syaran forces in Makedon. Endekov had under his command nearly 800,000 troops, in addition to over 3,000 guns, over 300 aircraft, and six of his own airships. Four armored trains were also supplied to support the Syaran forces, who were organized into two Army Groups; Yaponksi in the west and Pankovski in the east. Each army was composed of four field armies although in practice most decision making was made at the Corps Level, and as a result are usually emphasized above their respective armies. Yaponski's armies were the Fourth (12th, 16th, 21st Corps), Fifth (17th, 23rd, 25th Corps), Tenth (20th, 22nd, 24th Corps), and Thirteenth (26th, 28th, 30th Corps). Pankovski's armies were the Sixth (27th, 29th, 31st Corps), Seventh (32nd, 34th, 36th Corps), Ninth (33rd, 35th, 37th Corps) and the Fifteenth (38th, 40th, 42nd Corps). All together the Syarans had 72 divisions manning the Alekso Line.

The Alekso Line was not a single line but rather a series of defensive "belts" than ran between the Xhemal and Dazin Rivers. There were four "lines" in total. The first line was a lightly manned series of observation posts and dugouts that were meant to act as an early warning element, ringed with snipers and machine gunners. The second line was more formidable and consisted of several groups of trenches manned with overlapping machine gun nests and mortar pits, with increased fortifications. The third line was the main body and consisted of dug in regiments, pillboxes, hardpoints, overlapping machine guns, and artillery guns positioned for direct and indirect fire. The final fourth line was predominantly for the reserves to man and allowed easy access to reinforcement more forward trenches. Medical centers and ammunition dumps were often located here along with regimental and divisional headquarters.

News of the impending Cacertian offensive had caused the Syarans to rush their production of their own armored vehicles. The Aescaus and Agrius tanks, which had been in development since 1916, were both expedited and dispatched to the front line in early August. Their deployment was largely born out of panic rather than careful deliberation; many of the Syaran crews had only a few hours experience with their machines and the army and corps commanders had little idea on how best to employ them. As a result, the 200 tanks the Syarans had at the beginning of the offensive (123 Agrius and 77 Aescaus) were scattered across the Alekso Line with little reason behind their deployment.

Battle

At 0430 on 6 August 1918 General Marik boarded her command airship the HMA Acona along with Aerial Admiral Isabell Matelizi, Chief of Staff General Letizia Girolamo, and Intelligence Chief Rina Aparo. Exactly 15 minutes 1,000 Cacertian guns began shelling the Alekso Line in a massive barrage across the entire front line. More than million shells were fired during the open barrage, targetting every level of the Syaran defensive lines in order to destroy Syaran fortifications and disrupt communications and movement between the Syaran trenches and defensive belts. Thousands of Syaran soldiers were killed or wounded in the bombardment, which Syaran intelligence had mistakenly believed would not occur for another 24 hours. The barrage lasted for three hours, wrecking the Syaran lines and creating havoc among the divisions manning the forward most trenches.

Cacertian Assault

At 0745 the first Cacertian troops began advancing to take advantage of the disruption caused by the bombardment. Grenadiers, carrying automatic weapons including machine guns and submachine guns, began probing the Syaran lines for gaps to exploit and breaches in the trenches. Many of the Syaran divisions and corps manning the front lines were still reeling from the initial bombardment when the Cacertians struck and were quickly overrun. By noon, General Lauretta Grimani's 5th Army had routed 12th Corps and was attacking the positions of 16th Corps around the fork of the Xhemal and Zeno Rivers. General Agnolo Barbigia's 6th Army reached Artakes at 1230 after throwing back 17th Corps in disarray. 9th Army under General Giovanni Foscarini encountered stiffer resistance owing to having to face both the 20th and 25th Corps along the Kunos-Lumino roadway, but by 1400 the Cacertians had forced both Corps to retreat. Both 11th Army (General Alessia Barile) and the 13th Army (General Fazio D'Aidone) also broke through Syaran lines, but the 13th Army under General Ivano Di Colombini faced stiffer resistance from the 33rd, 35th, and 38th Corps.

By Day 2 the Syarans had recovered from the initial shock of the offensive and began to order up reserves to reinforce the front line. Syaran artillery also began shelling the Cacertian positions and staging areas, hoping to disrupt the flow of troops forward towards the front. Cacertian guns answered in reply, and were assisted by bomber aircraft, some of which were used to target Syaran artillery emplacements. In one instance the ammunition depot of the 33rd Corps was struck, creating a massive explosion and instant shortage of munitions for the entire corps. Despite Syaran efforts to reinforce their defensive lines, much of it was still in shambles. Entire sectors were too torn up by the barrage to be reconstituted, and Grenadier infiltrations were moving too fast for the Syarans to stop. By the end of the second day the Syaran first line had been almost completely overrun, and the last remaining holdouts were collapsing.

By 8 August the Cacertians were assaulting the second line of defense. By now the Grenadiers were being reinforced by the Rifle Divisions of their respective armies. The manpower was necessary to compensate for the thicker defensive networks found in the secondary line. By now the Syarans were rushing their troops forward to reinforce their lines, but guided by airship and airplane reconnaissance the Cacertians were able to identify Syaran columns moving forward and inform their forces on the ground accordingly. On more than one occasion a Syaran division would arrive at their designated position of reinforcement, only to learn shortly afterwards that the Cacertians had broken through on their flanks and the division had to relocate or risk being outflanked. By the end of the day much of the 12th, 17th, 20th, 27th, 32nd, 33rd, and 38th Corps had been badly mauled and were in tatters, their officers unable to exercise effective command-and-control due to gaps in their lines and damage to their lines of communication.

Despite impressive gains in many sectors the Grenadiers were beginning to lose their effectiveness as exhaustion and casualties began to mount. Syaran artillery, which outnumbered Cacertian guns 3-to-1, was also continuously firing on the Cacertians as they advanced, disrupting movements and supply lines. The Syaran Army Air Corps also began dispatching fighter planes to contest control of the skies and deprive the Cacertians from the aerial reconnaissance they were employing for their artillery. Over the course of 9 August the Cacertians gradually overcame the Syarans along the second line of defense and began approaching the tertiary defenses. After three days of heavy fighting the Cacertians had advanced 5-10 kilometers in most sectors. While many of the Syaran front line corps and divisions had largely been decimated or rendered combat ineffective, the Syarans were now able to reform much of their lines along their tertiary belt.

Battle for the Third Defensive Line

On 10 August Mark met with her army commanders to discuss the progress of the offensive. Bassadoar's army group was just under 40 kilometers from Zovahr, while Caldeara's forces were 44 kilometers from Patom. By now the Cacertians were heavily engaged in the third Syaran defensive line, which was being reinforced with reserve divisions across the front. Having reached this point in the operation, Marik decided it was time to commit her armored forces. She ordered General Ursino Salvetti and 4th Army Commander General Mareta Rose to begin reinforcing Bassadoar's army group to punch through Syaran lines in the direction of Viserajk, itself located just six kilometers from Zovahr. With assault tanks leading the attack, backed up by Guards Rifle Divisions, the Cacertians could break through the strongest of the Syaran defensive lines and breakout into the open fields between them and the Syaran capital.

Throughout the 10th the Cacertians engaged in an increasingly hard fought battle with the Syaran defenders who were now being reinforced with their reserve corps. Bolstered by these troops, dug into deeply entrenched networks of defenses to include pillboxes, machine gun nests every few hundred meters, barber wire and mortar pits, with the constant shelling of Syaran guns firing wildly throughout the day, infiltration efforts by the Grenadiers were no longer sufficient to breach the Syaran lines. Organizing Salvetti's armored forces took the better part of the day; with 500 tanks and armored cars committed this would have been the largest concentration of armored vehicles in history at the time, and given the relative inexperience with armored operations the process was clumsy and mistake filled. More than 30 tanks were dead-lined prior to arrival due to mechanical breakdowns. Despite their untested nature and questionable reliability Marik pressed for the attack, counting on the lack of dedicated anti-armor weaponry among the Syaran troops.

In the early morning of 11 August Salvetti drew up his tanks for his first assault against the Syaran lines held by the 23rd Corps. At 0825 233 Type 1 and 2 Assault tanks, supported by elements of the 17th and 18th Rifle Divisions, assaulted the Syaran lines. Captain Trasea Madara, commanding a company of Type 1 assault tanks, described the scene in her diary:

We crawled from our starting positions towards the enemy lines and were greeted by bursts of machine gun fire. We heard it impacting our armor and we kept moving. First it was just one machine gun firing at us, then another, and another until it felt like someone was using our tank as one beats a drum. We kept waiting for the moment that a bullet would break through our armor and ricochet inside the chamber of the vehicle, but it never occurred. There were a few panic-filled moments when the nose of our beast caught on the ground and we were unable to move forward, but each time we managed to reverse and break free. When were close enough to fire I sighted the main cannon on the closest target, a small concrete fortification where a Syaran machine gun team was firing at us. I gave the order to fire and the whole compartment filled with the scent of breach as the gun kicked and fired. I scarcely had time to readjust my eyes in time to catch the impact of our weapon; the bunker opened up like a smashed bottle. The Syaran soldiers near the bunker shook off the debris and climbed out of their trenches to bolt like rabbits. Alfredo, manning the forward machine gun, couldn't bring himself to fire upon their exposed backs; they looked too frightened.

Most of the Syaran divisions manning the front line lacked weapons capable of penetrating the armor of the Cacertian tanks. This was the first time they had been encountered during the war, and although Syaran leaders had been aware of their impending deployment there was a great deal of uncertainty regarding how to tackle the armored machines. The only weapon that was capable of penetrating the armor of the tanks were the artillery pieces, but the Syaran guns had all been directed towards firing on the Cacretian forces further north and so most were not in position to provide direct fire support for the infantry. As a result, within four hours of the attack, 23rd Corps had been routed and was in retreat. By the end of the day, the General Kliment Iskrenov Strashilov's Fifth Army was in retreat and a hole had been punched into the Syaran third defensive line.

Despite the success it was not without cost to the Cacertians, who learned of the limitations of their weapons during the fighting. Future Field Marshal Kancho Stanimirov Pingov remarked upon the fate of a Type 2 Assault Tank that had become stuck attempting to cross a trench.

The crew had been attempting to cross the primary trench when the nose of their beast had become wedged in an embankment on the other side. The crew attempted to reverse their vehicle, but the treads seemed to struggle to get traction on the ruin wood and mud that formed the lips of the trench. One of our gun commanders had spotted the stricken machine and lowered his cannon so it was aimed directly at the metal creature. It fired, and the entire machine exploded into fragments and shattered steel. It seemed impossible that any man could survive the impact, but three figures emerged from that wreckage, their arms in the air and screaming as their bodies smoldered and burned. It was a grisly and disturbing site, and I ordered some of the men to gun them down, more so out of pity than anger.

The assault on 11 August cost the Cacertians 33 tanks lost either to Syaran fire or mechanical breakdown, but it was sufficient to overrun the Syaran third line of defense in several sectors. By the end of the way the Syaran Fifth Army, along with much of the fourth and Tenth Armies had been thrown back from their defenses and were reeling in the face of the assault.