Battle of Loukussa

Battle of Loukussa
Part of Prodavan War
Date 15th - 21st March 1991 Location Loukussa Province, Prodava Result Vionna-Frankenlischian Victory
Belligerents
Vionna-Frankenlisch	Prodava
Commanders and leaders
Major General Phillip Walman Brigadier Sir George Montclair	General Solomon Warabe al-Salah
Units involved
12th Cavalry Brigade 1st Guards Grenadier Brigade 4th Infantry Division	11th (Loukussa) Division
Strength
20,000	18,000
Casualties and losses
259 killed 804 wounded	7,000 killed and wounded 4,000 captured

The Battle of Loukussa (or the First Battle of Loukussa) was a decisive battle during the Vionna-Frankenlischian Operation Towton, during the opening days of the Prodavan War. An Imperial force under the command of Major General Phillip Wallman, opposed by ill-prepared Prodavan forces under General Solomon Warabe al-Salah, captured the important Prodavan industrial city of Loukussa in a series of assaults lasting six days. Loukussa was the first major battle of the Prodavan War.

Background

The violent coup of Black February brought down the old Prodavan Sultanate and replaced it with a new Republic. Hoping to take advantage of the political instability in Prodava to take back lost territory, Vionna-Frankenlisch declared war on 14th March 1991. The Imperial Army and the Vionna-Frankenlischian government were confident of a short, easy conflict to retake certain lost areas of the Ceasian Princedom and two offensives were planned to quickly and decisively scare the new Prodavan government into ceding territory.

The twin offensives were both planned for the opening of the war, one from Teutonberg named Operation Teuton and one from Grythshead named Operation Towton. Teuton, the larger of the two operations, was aimed at reaching the city of Ramubad and linking up with the strong royalist underground there. Towton's objective was the important industrial city of Loukussa. Taking Loukussa would stop all production of war material in northern Prodava. Major General Phillip Wallman had command of the twenty-thousand men of Operation Towton and they marched across the border between the Duchy of Grythshead and Loukussa Province at 0620 on 15th March.

Opposing Forces

Prodavan

The Northern Military District consisted of six divisions and twenty Bedouin Guard garrisons. It came under the overall command of General Hasan Hadi and had 18,000 men in the direct vicinity of Loukussa with another 12,000 to the south in Thralkeldia. Prodavan forces at the battle were commanded by 11th Division commander, General Solomon Warabe al-Salah and were divided into four units:

• 11th (Loukussa) Division - 8 battalions in 2 brigades - 12,000 men (General Solomon al-Salah)
• 64th Artillery Regiment - 4 batteries - 900 men (Major Zuyad Mehmet)
• Loukussa Bedouin Guard - 3 squadrons - 300 men (Boyuk Yusuf Najim)
• Loukussa Town Militia - 18 companies - 4,800 men (Colonel Farak Najeed)

The four batteries of the 64th Artillery Regiment were equipped with old Imperial 5-inch field howitzers and civilian labourers dug emplacements for them on all sides of the city to defend against an attack from any direction. Rifles used by the Prodavans varied between units. The army used Mausers which had been recently delivered, the Bedouin Guard used short Berthier Carbines and the militia mostly used Krag-Jorgensen rifles from old garrison stocks.

Imperial

Walman's Corps was just over twenty-thousand men strong. He had 2400 horse, 17,000 infantry and a strong artillery train, he also had the 800 crack dragoons of 8th Pathfinder Regiment. Major General Walman's force was also divided into three main units:

• 4th Infantry Division - 10 battalions in 2 brigades - 13,000 men Major General Phillip Walman
• 1st Guards Grenadier Brigade - 4 battalions - Brigadier - 4,000 men William Hunter, Baron Llyne
• 12th Cavalry Brigade - 4 regiments - 2,400 men Brigadier Sir George Montclair

In addition, Colonel Sir Caelan Holland commanded the significant artillery train of the Imperial force. This consisted of:

• 1st Siege Regiment, Royal Artillery - 12 guns in 3 batteries
• 2nd Siege Regiment, Royal Artillery - 12 guns in 3 batteries
• 5th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery - 18 guns in 3 batteries
• 6th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery - 18 guns in 3 batteries
• 8th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery - 18 guns in 3 batteries

Montclair's Attacks: 15-16th March 1991

The Imperial column was headed by the 12th Cavalry Brigade and the 8th Pathfinder Regiment which moved quickly towards the city, encountering no resistance. 8th Pathfinder, an elite unit of hand-picked dragoons, scouted the road to Ladlin, a vital crossroad village along the highway to Loukussa which commanded the heights above the city. There, the regiment entrenched itself to defend the incredibly important strategic point. Any counterattack from the south or west would have to come through Ladlin first and a successful Prodavan counter-offensive would cut the Imperial force in half should Ladlin be captured. Major Elias Horke, commanding 8th Pathfinder, was ordered to hold the position without thought of losses.

First Fighting: 1300, 15th March

Brigadier Sir George Montclair commanded 12th Cavalry Brigade and his dragoons and light horse were ordered to advance ahead of the slow infantry column and hold the entrances to the city for the main force. At 1pm on 15th March, the lead elements of Montclair's brigade came under fire from scouts of the Loukussa Bedouin Guard. The Prodavan forces, under the command of General Solomon al-Salah, engaged Montclair's brigade in dogged skirmishes as it approached within five miles of the city. Though Montclair's reports state no losses during this period, the constant threat of ambush and snipers had a strong morale effect, especially with no infantry in support. At 1730, Montclair halted the brigade to prepare his attack on the city's outskirts.

12th Cavalry's organisation had not changed since the Great War and it consisted of four regiments of cavalry, a battery of horse artillery and a small variety of support arms including medical, signals and a squadron of the Imperial Machine Gun Corps. Sir George Montclair organised his attack in three prongs. The Middle Frankenlisch Dragoons would lead a central thrust supported by the machine guns and horse artillery. On the left and right flanks respectively, Sir John Monkton's Hobelars and the Richmond Light Horse were to skirmish with the Prodavan defenders. MacCaernholm's Lancers were kept in reserve.

The attack began at 18:00 and met almost immediately with difficulty as a lack of cover made skirmishing tricky. Monkton's Hobelars withdrew in confusion when Sir John was hit by shrapnel and lost an eye. Pressure thus relieved on their weak left, the Prodavans were free to turn their guns against the Imperial center where the Middle Frankenlisch Dragoons made their advance. With the machine guns out of range and the field guns of the horse artillery were unable to get a proper firing angle, the Imperials had no answer to the Prodavan howitzers. The attack was withdrawn with minor casualties.

Second Attack: 2100, 16th March

Overnight the wounded were tended to and the dead buried. Most of 16th March was spent in reconaissance. It seemed the Prodavans had yet to realise their massive superiority in numbers and equipment as Al-Salah ordered no sallies or counterattacks. Patrols, mostly from MacCaernholm's Lancers, mapped what they could of the Prodavan positions. Sir George Montclair planned a night attack to sweep the Prodavan batteries from the plain and open up the outskirts of the city to assault. The four regiments of Montclair's brigade drew up as night began to fall and all twelve squadrons were in position by 2100. At the head of the brigade, Sir George Montclair led the advance after a lightning quick preliminary bombardment.

Unwilling to launch illumination flares, Montclair's attack fell into disorder almost immediately. Five minutes after setting off, the rightmost squadron (C Squadron, the Richmond Light Horse) of the attack became seperated from the rest of the brigade by a clump of rocks. B Squadron of the same regiment became seperated a minute later in similar circumstances and the two squadrons combined trailed off to the right. In the confusion they overrun a Prodavan gun pit and then turned back. Unable to carry the captured gun back, Sergeant D.H. Mullins destroyed it by detonating its ammunition. This, predictably, caused significant confusion for both sides. Sir George Montclair had actually realised quite quickly what had happened and kept the advance going steady. Monkton's Hobelars on the left, however, assumed they were under fire and sped up before the recall was sounded. For their part, the Prodavans responded to the threat quickly and began firing with their field howitzers. No shells struck but Montclair called off the attack anyway as the situation was unlikely to improve had it continued. The only casualties of the action were fourteen Prodavans killed when the gun pit was overrun.

Imperial Main Force arrives: 16-17th March

Defence of Ladlin: 16th March

Main Article: Battle of Ladlin (1991)

An excessive supply train and a lack of motor vehicles hindered the advance of Major General Walman's main force. Though Montclair's brigade and Major Elias Horke's Pathfinders had struck quickly ahead to their objectives, the initiative was temporarily in the hands of the Prodavans. Adina Sassin al-Sassini's 28th (Thralkeld) Division was the closest division of the Northern Military District to Loukussa and marched quickly against Ladlin to cut off Montclair's brigade from the advancing main force of Walman. The four other divisions of the district were assembling in Jukul to make the journey to Loukussa by train but there were not yet enough rail carriages. Al-Sassini's division was not expected to permanantly hold off the Imperial main force but rather to take Ladlin and delay Walman long enough for the divisions in Jukul to reinforce Loukussa. Major Horke's 8th Pathfinders had entrenched themselves solidly in the high ground around Ladlin and, when battle was joined at 1300 on 16th March, proved incredibly difficult to disrupt. The forced march from Thralkeldia had forced the 28th Division to leave much of its ammunition behind and the Prodavan artillery ran dry early on in the battle. Skrimishing from range with the well-dug-in Pathfinders ended fruitlessly and Al-Sassini was forced to send his men into successive waves of attack. The 28th took heavy casualties in nine hours of fighting and was forced to withdraw empty-handed when the 1st Guards Grenadier Brigade arrived late on the 16th.

Lord Llyne's Arrival: 0800, 17th March

To the sound of cheering from Montclair's tired brigade, the 1st Guards Grenadier Brigade under Lord Llyne marched into the Imperial camp outside Loukussa at 0800 on the 17th of March. Though only 4,000 men strong, the arrival of the brigade almost tripled the number of Imperial troops outside Loukussa and the sight of the four well-ordered and elite battalions was a serious boost to morale. Montclair and his senior officers lunched with Llyne and his staff and, though concerned that delay would allow the Prodavans to strengthen their positions, they eventually decided to wait for artillery support before launching another attack. Both agreed that, together, their two brigades would be sufficient to defeat the Prodavan defenders and they agreed that in the unlikely event that the artillery arrived before Walman and 4th Infantry Division, they should attack without him.

There was some confusion when a pair of Imperial Air Service observation aircraft (Gestoria Champions of No.20 Squadron) flew overhead as few of the Imperial troops had worked with aircraft before. A machinegun was set up to fire at the circling planes but an officer (Captain H. Bracken of the Prince of Riverland's Grenadiers) who had been a liaison with the IAS recognised them as Vionna-Frankenlischian and prevented the gun from firing. Photgraphs of the Prodavan gun positions were dropped over the Imperial camp in a canvas bag with a small parachute, however, the film could not be developed due to a lack of facilities. In spite of the inability to actually develop the photographs in time for them to be useful, Imperial commanders (especially those of the IAS) considered the mission a major success and photgraphic observation missions were run for the rest of the war. A second observation squadron (No.21) was formed in 1992 and significant effort was made to ensure unit headquarters were equipped to develop reconnaissance photographs.

With infantry now available, a second attempt to carry the Prodavan gun positions was planned. Three columns from the Weissberg Grenadiers were to make an approach under cover of night and seize the gun pits one-by-one. Daylight reconnaissance undertaken by patrols of the Richmond Light Horse that afternoon was unable to locate all of the gun pits and discovered that the Prodavan positions had been reinforced by infantry in slit trenches. Lord Llyne and Colonel Goetz of the Weissberg Grenadiers, in response to these developments, planned to send in an additional column with a cavalry reserve on standby from the Middle Frankenlisch Dragoons. Preperations were also made to fire star shells for illumination. Sir George Montclair refused to support the plan, considering it flawed and reckless. Major Fitz-Hawton, the engineering officer on Lord Llyne's staff sent a galloper to Major General Walman with details of the planned attack. Furious, Walman ordered that no attempt should be made to engage with the Prodavans until 4th Infantry Division had arrived.

4th Infantry Division arrives: 2100, 17th March

The lead elements of 4th Infantry Division and the column's support units marched into the siege camp just after 2100 on the evening of 17th March. Led by Colonel Arwyn's regiment, the Royal Frankenlischian Borderers, the arrival of 4th Infantry Division raised the number of combat troops in the Imperial camp from 6,400 to about 20,000. Now enjoying a slight advantage of numbers over the Prodavans (though the exact numbers of the Prodavan defenders were unknown at that time) Major General Walman called a council of war, laying out his intentions to take Loukussa by force before Prodavan reinforcements could arrive. Without enough troops to encircle the city and place it under siege, the Imperial commanders were forced to commit to a frontal attack on the city's outskirts. Though the point of attack - at the western edge of the city, around the modern-day suburb of Alsaghir-Loukussa - was not ideal, an attack at any other point would require the army to march around the outside of the city through farmland and small streams due to a lack of proper roads. This was possible, but difficult to accomplish for the heavy material of the Imperial corps.

While 4th Infantry Division encamped and entrenched itself that night, Sir Caelan Holland's fifteen artillery batteries were brought into the camp and work began on siting the guns. With 54 field guns and 24 siege guns (mostly the heavy 6-inch gun) the Imperial forces had a significant advantage in firepower and as soon as the first batteries were emplaced they began a systematic bombardment of the Prodavan front line.

Battle: 18th-21st March

Bombardment

The Imperial bombardment began on the morning of 18th March when the first siege battery had been set up. The effectiveness of the barrage was marred by insufficient observation and difficulty in bringing up ammunition as the corps' supply train was still arriving at the camp. Nonetheless, the open gun pits and slit trenches of the Prodavan front line offered little protection from the heavy Imperial shells. In the first day of bombardment, the Imperial artillery could contrive to fire only 112 shells, mostly due to congestion in the camp limiting ammunition flow. These still proved sufficient to destroy 9 Prodavan gun positions and destroy the poorly-supported trenches of the Prodavan 94th Infantry Battalion, causing significant casualties amongst the Prodavan first line troops.

A poorly-advised nighttime barrage wasted a significant portion of the 6-inch shells. Mostly undershooting in the darkness, the heavy shelling had the effect of destroying the once-firm ground over which the Imperial assault would have to move. This made the ground almost impassable to cavalry and Sir George Montclair had a furious argument with Sir Caelan Holland over the blunder. Major General Walman was forced to keep the two men apart; a week after the battle, Montclair was recalled to Frankenlisch to receive the Cavalry Star (a minor award) and was appointed Inspector-General of Horse.

On the morning of 19th March, the siege guns of Holland's batteries fired off their last shells, demolishing several Prodavan strong points. Walman's staff estimated Prodavan casualties at 6,000 and the destruction of 30 guns. This proved to be severely optimistic (the Prodavans did not even have 30 guns). General al-Salah's casualty returns, though incomplete, provide for a maximum of 3,000 casualties from the Imperial bombardment and the actual numbers are likely much lower. The primary effect of the artillery fire was to destroy the entrenched positions which the Prodavans had dug, forcing the defenders to move back into the buildings of Loukussa.

Assault

Lord Llyne's 1st Guards Grenadier Brigade was selected to lead the assault on Loukussa. The 1st and 2nd battalions of the Royal Regiment of Grenadiers and the Weissberg Grenadiers led the brigade; the 1st battalion of the Prince of Riverland's Grenadiers followed up behind. Armed with submachine guns and laden with grenades, the grenadiers were the perfect choice for the close-quarters house-to-house fighting that would be required. Before the assault, the brigade was also issued with hand-axes for breaking doors and barricades and for melee fighting. Following the battle, hand-axes became standard-issue for Imperial Army grenadiers.