Battle of Oliv

Battle of Oliv
Part of Prodavan War
Lord Rachdale leading 3rd Corps meets Brigadier McManaman on the outskirts of Oliv.
Date 3rd - 6th April 1991 Location Oliv, Earldom of Agrea Result Imperial Victory
Belligerents
Vionna-Frankenlisch	Prodava
Commanders and leaders
General Lord Rachdale Brigadier Colum McManaman	General Rasseed Salahe General Idrees el-Akram
Units involved
Third Corps	2 Corps
Strength
28,000	19,000
Casualties and losses
1,671 killed, 3,512 wounded approx. 400 captured	4,910 killed and wounded 3,000 captured
Between 1,000 and 2,500 civilians killed Heavy damage to the eastern half of Oliv

The Battle of Oliv was an engagement of the Prodavan War occuring during the Prodavan Oliv Offensive. It took place within the city of Oliv in Agrea, Vionna-Frankenlisch, and around the River Achola. The battle was fought over three days from 3rd to 6th April 1991 between Imperial forces under the Viscount Rachdale and Brigadier Colum McManaman and 19,000 Prodavans under the command of General Rasseed Salahe. The Prodavans were in the midst of a counter-offensive in the region of Agrea, intended to seize the city of Oliv and destroy a significant portion of the Imperial Army in southeastern Vionna. Operation-Group Oliv was made up of forces from Prodavan 2nd Corps and, at the begining of the battle, vastly outnumbered the 4,000 defenders of the city.

Operation-Group Oliv, after taking the Imperial airbase at Kavarres, spent 3rd and 4th April in rest and prayer while their artillery shelled Imperial positions across the River Achola. The Prodavan assault on the city began on the 5th and the delay gave time for Lord Rachdale's hastily formed Third Corps to march east from Octan. After making considerable gains in Oliv and causing heavy casualties to Brigadier McManaman's defenders, Prodavan forces were surprised and forced back by the sudden arrival of Rachdale's corps. Fierce fighting regained the city for the Imperial forces and General Salahe withdrew his remaining forces on 6th April.

Defeat at Oliv was a critical failure for the Prodavans who, until that point, had looked ready to inflict a decisive blow against Vionna-Frankenlisch. By failing to take the city, and then withdrawing, Salahe handed the initiative back to the Imperials who he had kept on the back-foot. A counter-attack by Rachdale's Third Corps inflicted a further defeat on Salahe's retreating forces, retaking Kavarres on 9th April. A breakout effort by the encircled Imperial Second Corps on 6th April succeeded, bringing an end to the Battle of Hill 451. A further victorious action was fought at Elerio on the 11th by Second Corps and they were united with Imperial Third Corps on the 12th.

Background

Opening of the War

The Prodavan War was declared on 14th March 1991. Following the death of Sultan Abu Taiseer al-Shahid, Prodava had fallen into a period of civil anarchy known as Black February which was marked by open fighting between the two paramilitary units that served the Prodavan government: the monarchist Mameluk Guard and the nationalist Bedouin Guard. The Pomeron Revolution and the Greenshirt Coup saw Prodava transition violently into a republic led by Aisha Bardour. After a short build-up of tensions, Vionna-Frankenlisch declared war on Prodava with the stated aims of retaking territory formerly belonging to Imperial Ceasisa and restoring the Prodavan monarchy.

Operation Towton saw the first major action of the war when the city of Loukussa in northern Prodava fell to an Imperial offensive. A second offensive, Operation Teuton, failed to breakthrough the heavily-defended Ramulani Line. Despite this failure, the capture of Loukussa was a significant victory and swung the tide of war decisively in favour of Vionna-Frankenlisch.

Oliv Offensive

In response to these early movements, the Prodavan General Staff planned to launch a counter-offensive in the west against the southermost part of Vionna-Franenlisch - the county of Agrea. Forty-thousand men were organised into the 2nd Corps and placed under the command of General Rasseed Salahe. The offensive began on 27th March and quickly acheived one of its objectives by completing the encirclement of Hill 451, an important Imperial position, at the Battle of Elerio. An Imperial counterattack at the Second Battle of Elerio was beaten back and 19,000 Imperial troops had become trapped in the Hill 451 pocket. The encirclement prevented the arrival of supplies and reinforcments and communication was possible only by a semaphore at the peak of the hill which was put out of action by artillery fire early in the battle. From the airfield at Kavarres, IAS pilots flew mission to drop supplies via parachute.

Salahe continued his victorious campaign on 1st April by attacking Kavarres. The town held out until night, allowing the aircraft to escape and the garrison to slip away in the darkness. Two regiments of cavalry and the IAS ground personnel at Kavarres escaped to Oliv and news of the approaching Prodavans - 19,000 strong under Salahe; was passed on to the Duke of Cunaris at Octan, the capital of Agrea. After taking the abandoned Kavarres on the morning of 2nd April, Salahe moved against Oliv. Operation-Group Oliv arrived on the east bank of the River Achola on the evening of 3rd April.