Operation Ruby

Operation Ruby
Part of the Great War
File:Torch-2.jpg Federation Marines land on the Beaches of Northern Coius
Date 10 March 1930 (1930-03-10) – 21 April 1931 (1931-04-21) (1 year, 42 days) Location Northern and Northeastern Coius Result Democratic Alliance Victory Surrender of Gaullican and Caenesi Forces in Coius Liberation of Occupied-Coius by Asterian Forces Preceded the Invasion of Caesena
Belligerents
Democratic Alliance Federation Republic of Negara	Entente Gaullica Third Solarian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Alliance Leaders James Henderson David Wilkins Max Ford Shane Herr Eric DeCasse Brian O'Neil Frank Ariston Raharjo Gunturputra Budi Dianputra	Entente Leaders Gaullic General Gaullic General Caeseni General Caeseni General
Strength
Democratic Alliance Federation 904,000 personnel 955 tanks 1,100 military aircraft 4,675 artillery pieces Republic of Negara 105,000 personnel	Entente 1.3 million personnel 1,101 tanks 1,115 aircraft 5,444 artillery pieces
Casualties and losses
100,000+	355,000+

Operation Ruby was the codename for the Invasion of Entente-Occupied Bahia by the Federation of Asteria in April of 1930, and lasted until the surrender of Gaullican and Caeseni Troops on the 21st of April, 1931. The Invasion was primarily at retaliatory strike against the Coalition by a vengeful Federation, and was a means of diverting Coalition resources away from Kaxakh and opening a second Front. Despite being heavily outnumbered and fighting with only minimal assistance from any other Alliance members, the Federation managed to obtain victory over the Gaullican and Caeseni Forces. The success of Operation Ruby would ultimately pave way for the Invasion of Caesena, known as Operation Citadel.

Background

Operation Ruby was the Federation's first major military action taken against the Fascist Entente, and would be vital in the Alliances' goal to "box out" Gaullica. Following the attack on Saint Mary Harbor on January 29th, 1929, the Federation began to draft plans for a retaliatory strike against the Entente. Many of the early plans involved ideas such as sending troops to Kaxakh, or invading Werabua (though it was accepted that the Alliance was not prepared for such a large-scale invasion). Eventually, Federation Army High Command shifted their focus to Bahia, the "forgotten front", where Gaullican and Caeseni Troops were slowly but surely draining the might of the Esmerish forces there. By September of 1929, the Federation Army and Navy began to draft plans for the invasion and liberation of Northern Bahia from Entente occupation-- a plan which would be dubbed "Operation Ruby".

Asterian Preparation

After the attack on Saint Mary Harbor, the Asterian people were ready to go to War immediately. This would be impossible. Much of the Federation's Naval power was crippled, and they needed time to bolster their military and consolidate their forces. It would more than a year for the Asterian War Machine to be ready for any major offensives, and even by the time Operation Ruby was ready to go into effect, many Alliance leaders advised to delay the invasion and further prepare. President Parker ignored them.

File:ScoutPlanes.jpg

Asterian Scout Planes over the Seas north of Bahia

Preparations for the invasion of Entente-occupied bahia were put into effect shortly after the plans were drafted, starting with the placement of a small carrier group just off the coast of what is today known as Al Mahra. From the decks of the FS Columbia, Federation Naval Air Forces would initiate a scouting campaign over Bahia, marking major Entente positions such as supply depots, bases, etc. The Scout Pilots would allow for the Allies to draw up extremely accurate maps of Entente strongholds and supply lines, which would extremely benefit the progression of the conflict on land.

To logistically prepare for Operation Ruby, Federation Naval Intelligence spent months attempting to decode the Gaullican-Caeseni cypher, known as the "Sigma" Code. The Sigma Code was an extremely complicated an ever-changing military cypher, first developed by Gaullican Forces during the invasion of Werania, and had since become the Coalition's main cypher. Etmerish attempts to decode the Sigma in 1928 failed, and Federation attempts in January of 1929 failed, which inevitably allowed the vast success of the January 29th attack on Saint Mary Harbor. In the days after the attack, Federation Intelligence forces scrambled to decode the Sigma, hoping to discover plans for an imminent invasion of Glytter or the Etmerish League, but they largely gave up after the invasion of Kaxakh. Though, with Operation Ruby falling into place, the demand to decipher the Sigma became more pressing, and eventually, it would be cracked. Petty Officer Donavan Tenner deciphered the Sigma Code on the 21st of December, 1929, using one of the world's first prototype computers. Deciphering the Sigma Code was one of the Alliance's most important accomplishments, as it would go unnoticed by the Entente until well into the 30s. Cracking the code allowed the Federation to know exactly where to strike, and when.

On the 21st of February, 1930, the 17,000 Marines of the FMC 1st Division linked with the Invasion Fleet, followed by more than 50,000 members of the Federation Army on the 25th. These ground forces would ultimately be supported by an entire air division, as well as more than 500 tanks, a thousand artillery pieces, and more than two-thousand vehicles. Invasion plans were confirmed on the 1st of March, and nine days later, the first major Alliance offensive began.

First Contact

The Battle of Sadara was the first contact between Federation and Gaullican Armies in the Great War, and would end up being one of the most hard-fought. At 2am on March 10th, 1930, the Invasion Fleet, consisting of over 70 vessels, slid into position just off the coast of Al Mahra, and would delay tens of thousands of Marines across a twenty mile stretch. For most of these troops, landing and securing their targets quickly without resistance. In the village of Sadara, however, things were much different.

Federal Marines advance into Sadara with tank support

The 1,500 men of the First Wave at Sadara were able to advance up to the beachhead within 5 minutes of landing, and would continue to push towards Sadara with very little Gaullican resistance. Though, upon reaching the center of the town (which was mostly ruins by Naval Bombardment), the men of the 21st Marine Regiment came under immense fire from Gaullican troops, and were forced to fall back into a small sandstone house after suffering immense casualties. Surrounded, the 21st Marines would battle Gaullican forces tooth and nail, unable to receive reinforcements until armor could land on the beaches the next morning. The 21st Marines repelled almost a dozen waves of Gaullican Forces (killing roughly 3,000) in what has become known as the Battle of Sadara, before Federation Tanks and Armored Vehicles could move in to fully liberate the town, and find the Marines which Command had earlier presumed had all been KIA.

Following the Battle of Sadara, on the evening of March 11th, the Coalition would launch a counter-attack against the Alliance Forces, desperately hoping to overrun and defeat their invasion force before they had time to dig in. The 5th Caeseni Tank Division would clash with the Alliance expeditionary force just outside Sadara, but they were too late. Asterian and Negaran Forces had dug in, setting up anti-tank positions and artillery placements, planting mines, digging trenches, and had set up tank nests. When the Caeseni tanks rolled over the hills to Sadara, they were cut apart, losing more than half of their force in just twenty minutes, and were forced to retreat.

In the days after Sadara, Asterian and Negaran Forces would land more than 100,000 troops, with over 300 tanks and a thousand artillery pieces. On the 16th of March, Federation Army Rangers would take control of a nearby Coalition airfield, securing a foothold for their air forces. On the 20th of March, the Allies would launch their offensive, known as the Madison Push.

The Madison Offensive

On the 20th of March, 1930, just ten days after landing in Bahia, the Democratic Alliance would launch their first major ground offensive against the Fascist Entente, which would become known as the "Madison Offensive", after Private William Madison, a Marine who sacrificed himself during the Battle of Sadara to allow the rest of the 21st Marines to fall back. The offensive was drafted during the initial planning of Operation Ruby, and was set to be a large-scale push Southwest while forces from Negara push into Ziwaru. The offensive became very controversial in the days leading up to it, as many of the Bahian Invasion Forces' leaders (such as David Wilkins and Max Ford) believed that the Alliance wasn't yet ready to launch such an assault, but James Henderson argued that, quote, "each moment we delay is another moment they prepare".

The Madison Push began on the morning of March 20th with massive air assaults on Entente airfields, supply depots, and bases, which were followed by more than 70,000 Federation and 90,000 Negaran Soldiers advancing all along the Front, supported by multiple armored divisions and artillery. The offensive was organized into two separate attack groups: North and South. In the north, 30,000 Federation Marines, supported by 47,000 Negarans, would confront what would mostly be Caeseni armies, driving them back with ruthless ferocity, and defeating multiple armies in battles such as the Battle of El-Alakk and Bruno Hill. In the South, 40,000 men of the Federation Army and 38,000 Negarans would confront to infamous Gaullican Désert Corps, some of the most seasoned and experienced men in Couis, having years of combat experience against Etmerish forces. With the Negarans being volunteers and the Asterian Soldiers largely un-experienced in major combat, the southern assault began to grind to a halt by June of 1930.

Though, even as the offensive began to bog down in the south, the Marines in the north continued driving through the Bahian deserts, defeating countless Caeseni armies, but it soon became apparent that they'd overstepped their advance, and were soon more than a hundred miles ahead of the Army. James Henderson, commander of the Northern Attack Group, had make a critical mistake, and the Madison Push soon fell apart. Gaullican Forces coordinated a massive counter-attack with Caesena, driving north and cutting off the Marines from the rest of liberated Bahia, and subsequently pushing them to the coast, in a six-month long battle which became known as the Battle for El-Manae. After the Marines were cut off and besieged, the Southern Attack Group was forced to dig in and hold their positions while reinforcements spread out across the Front, fortifying their positions.

Stalemate

By August of 1930, the Allied advance into Entente-occupied Northern Bahia came to a complete halt. More than 75,000 Allied troops had been surrounded 70 miles behind enemy lines by Gaullican forces and pushed to the coast in the Battle of El-Manae,

File:Gaul Trenches.jpg

An Asterian Marine, entrenched somewhere outside of El-Manae

which would be one of the largest military encirclement in history. As the Federation and Negaran Forces withstood countless Entente assaults, Alliance forces dug in and fortified their positions all across the front, establishing a vast network of trenches that neither side could seem to break through. The stalemate was called "the Great Delay" by the entrenched troops.

Soon enough, Trench Warfare dominated the fighting in Bahia, which became minimal along the Front by December of 1930, though fighting in El-Manae was still fierce. Though, on Christmas 1930, a tradition would begin that would carry on between Asterian and Gaullican Forces for the rest of the War. The Marines encircled in El-Manae, as well as the Army along the Front, hung lamps along their trenches and raised white flags to request a temporary truce. The Gaullican Forces, as well as many Caeseni troops, raised white flags in return, and the fighting in Bahia stopped for a time. Asterian forces left their posts and celebrated Christmas with the enemy in what would become known as the Christmas Truce, which was tradition between the Gaullican and Asterian troops until the end of the War.

Though, the Christmas Truce was one day of peace among hundreds of days of war. In El-Manae, the Allies were beginning to slowly die out. Negaran Suicide Charges against Gaullican positions had reduced their numbers to less than 10,000, and the Federation Marines had lost 8,000 men. Until December, Federation Naval Forces were able to send cargo ships ashore to drop off food, ammunition, and medical supplies, but the Battle of the Bujhali Straight on December 4th had forced the Federation Fleet into retreat. Unable to land supplies on the coast, Federation Carriers were forced to cut back on bombing missions to drop supplies for the encircled Allies.

Time was running out for the Marines trapped at El-Manae, and their commander, Colonel Brian O'Neil, knew that they would have to act soon or face defeat. He planned what many of his top officers called "out of this world" - a full, concentrated assault. They abandoned El-Marae, shredding their way through Caeseni lines in the north, and would begin to storm north, towards Allied lines. The Gaullican Army had to abandon their plans to launch a new offensive in Bahia to counter the Marines, which were rapidly approaching the occupied city of Dodishu, in coastal Bujhala. The Federation and Negaran Forces on the Front launched a massive attack on the city of Dodishu from the north as the Marines attacked from the South. The Battle for Dodishu resulted in an Alliance victory, despite heavy Asterian and Negaran casualties, and successfully broke the Coalition's defensive line. Allied troops poured in from the north, and the momentum was once again picked up by the Alliance.

Alliance Victory

The Bahian Defensive Line was broken on January 16th after the capture of Dodishu, and Allied troops began to pour into un-liberated territory. Working with local resistance, the Federation and Negaran Forces would flank southward, pinning the Entente troops against two separate Allied armies. More than 300,000 Entente forces would surrender in January alone, and even more as the Alliance pushed them further south. While the Allied advance was swift and successful, it came at a price. As previously seen in El-Manae, Negaran Soldiers would suffer some of the highest casualties in the entire war. In January and February, Negara lost upwards of 50,000 men, while the Federation only had around 12,000 casualties. While bloody and inhumane, Negaran Suicide Charges were successful in drawing enemy fire long enough for Asterian troops to attack, but only at the price of vast casualties and severe emotional trauma to Asterian Soldiers who witnessed it (as written about in the book "The Negaran Tragedy" by Walter P. White in 1954).

Though, the Allied casualties could hardly compare to those suffered by the Entente. In February alone, more than 70,000 Gaullican and 30,000 Caeseni soldiers were killed or wounded, and more than 100,000 would be captured. Eventually, the Gaullican Désert Corps and their Caeseni counterparts could no longer organize defenses close to the Front, and was order by King Albert IV himself to fall into full retreat to the coast, and make a last stand at the Bujhali port city of Saivan. The Battle of Saivan would begin on March 8th, 1931, and end on April 21st with the total surrender of Entente forces in Bahia-Couis.

Of the 1.3 million Entente troops in Bahia during the start of Operation Ruby, more than 350,000 would be killed or wounded, while more than 800,000 would surrender over the course of the campaign. In comparison, the Allies had deployed just over a million soldiers for the conflict, and had suffered approximately 100,000 casualties, with 76,000 captured (50,000 of which would be recovered). The liberation of Entente-occupied Bahia-Couis was a massive victory for the Alliance, which had not seen a major ground victory since the start of the War. More than 150,000 Entente troops would be evacuated to Caesena, but only months later, would find themselves being confronted by the Alliance in Operation Citadel: the largest amphibious invasion in history.