Battle of Osmino

Battle of Osmino
Part of Roca War
Destroyed Rettoan tanks following the retreat of their forces from Osmino
Date 13 October - 4 November 2024 (3 weeks and 1 day) Location Osmino, North Kandson Surrounding villages
Belligerents
North Kandson North Kandson Navy North Kandson Air Force North Kandson Army Support: EUEEN Odoni Molenia Blallia Alterrame Vœyetska Zamastan	Rettoa Rettoan Air Force Rettoan Navy Rettoan Army Sateroc Brotherhood of Kolkesburg Stasso
Commanders and leaders
Jonathan Catalá Sumy Alvade Ander García Alenn Leisa Perie Jefferson	Ivan Tonovich Aleix Montilla Yulia Senena Germain Nicoldanov Afanasyev Georgiy
Casualties and losses
North Kandson 9,800 killed EUEEN 3,804 killed	Rettoa 17,260 killed Sateroc 1,422 killed Stasso 873 killed
North Kandson 18,750 civilians killed

The Battle of Osmino was part of the Osmino offensive in the Rettoan-led invasion of Kandson for control of Osmino, the capital city of North Kandson, and surrounding districts including Senell International Airport and Cain Air Base. The combatants were elements of the Rettoan Armed Forces supported by Saterocean forces and the Brotherhood of Kolkesburg, with the city defended by the North Kandson Armed Forces supported by the EUEEN and Zamastanian Air Force. The battle lasted from 13 October to 4 November 2024 and ended with the withdrawal of Rettoa and its partnered forces.

Initially, Rettoan forces captured key areas to the north and east of Osmino, leading to international prediction of the city's imminent fall. However, swift intervention by the EUEEN coupled with stiff Kandsonian resistance sapped Rettoan momentum. Poor Rettoan logistics and tactical decisions helped the defenders to thwart efforts at encirclement, and, after a week of protracted fighting, the defending forces began counterattacking. Following the successful counterattacks in late October, Rettoa began withdrawing its forces from the capital city area on 1 November. Three days later, the Kandsonian authorities declared that Osmino was again under Kandsonian control, and EUEEN forces began pushing beyond the capital.

The battle was particularly brutal in the history of urban conflict, with most of the capital's outer districts left in ruin from heavy clashes and artillery strikes. Kandsonian forces lost more than 9,800 troops, while the EUEEN lost 3,804, more than all its combined military deaths in previous conflicts since the World War, including the 1999-2005 Vulkaria War. Rettoa and its allies lost around 20,000 soldiers. As a result of the battle, nearly 19,000 civilians died and nearly half of the city's population fled the capital.

First assaults

Beginning on the morning of October 13th 2024, Rettoan forces and their partnering Saterocean armored columns and Brotherhood of Kolkesburg militia units began a ground and air assault on Osmino from staging points in Solime and Arastaoir. This coincided with a massive rocket barrage against the capital, with short-range missiles from all surrounded directions in occupied Kandson, as well as cruise missiles from Rettoan naval ships, and medium and long-range ballistic missiles from Rettoa, Stasso, and mainland Sateroc.

Rettoa apparently intended to rapidly seize Osmino, with special forces infiltrating the city, supported by airborne operations and a rapid mechanised advance from the north and west. Military commanders had aimed to attempt an approach from the south as well, but heavy resistance in Dalir prevented the establishment of a southern front.

Initial attacks were successful despite stubborn resistance from defending Kandsonian soldiers and armed civilians. Kandsonian use of sophisticated man-portable weapons provided by international allies, however, slowed the ground assault and much of the fighting stalled to the satellite districts of Osmino rather than the city interior itself.

Capture of Senell Airport

Rettoan forces began a "concerted effort" to take Senell International Airport in the first day of the assault on Osmino. Around 5:05 in the morning amid wider rocket attacks on the capital, Rettoan forces began to establish positions in tower blocks overlooking the airport, including a medical station, staging area, and an artillery observation post. At 06:15, Rettoan forces began to barrage the airport with Grad rocket fire, using their positions in neighboring residential buildings to direct artillery fire at the airport.

The ruins of Senell International Airport with a Rettoan flag on top, October 21st

A formation of 20 to 34 Rettoan helicopters launched the operation to secure Senell Airport to create an airbridge in which troops and equipment could muster less than 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from Osmino. To cover their attack on the airport, the Rettoan military jammed Kandsonian radars and suppressing local air defense sites. Flying low, the Rettoan helicopters made their approach from the Sarits River and were immediately attacked by Kandsonian small arms fire and MANPADS. The Rettoan helicopters countered by deploying flares. Several were hit, with at least two helicopters being shot down and several more aborting their landings.

As the Rettoan paratroopers landed in growing numbers and fanned out, Brotherhood of Kolkesburg units arrived in armored trucks and disembarked closer to the main terminal supported by three Rettoan tanks, and the Kandsonian defending garrison was forced to retreat as they started to run out of ammunition. At one point during the fighting, a helicopter was shot down and crashed into the main terminal, erupting a massive fire that engulfed most of the Arrivals building. The initial clashed had lasted about an hour; the paratroopers had suffered significant losses, while the Brotherhood militia also suffered high casualties but were able to push Kandsonian fighters out of the terminal. The Rettoan forces were thus able to secure the airport.

Attempts by Kandsonian forces to take the airport back in the following day were thwarted numerous times as Rettoa and its allies began encircling the city and thus the counter attackers.

Counter-attacks

Recapture of Senell Airport

By 30 October, the airport's runways and main hangers had been far too damaged by artillery and airstrikes to be utilized by Rettoan forces, and frequent clashes nearby rendered any aircraft attempting to take off from the airport to be vulnerable to surface fire. The beginning withdrawal of Rettoan forces from Osmino culminated in a staging of retreating forces at Senell, a strategic failure which allowed Zamastanian Z-17 Condors to target vehicles on and around the runways. On 31 October, a EUEEN ground attack consisting of Odoni, Blallian, and Vœyetskan units entered the airport and seized the runway with little resistance. However, the main terminal of the airport was heavily defended by remaining Rettoan forces, and clashes became close-quarters and deadly. Additionally, booby-trapped staircases and hallways led to over four dozen casualties among EUEEN troops as they maneuvered through the structures.

A destroyed cargo plane at Senell International Airport following its recapture on November 1st.

On 1 November, the final push to force out Rettoan forces from the airport was initiated with a Zamastanian airstrike on a counterattacking Brotherhood of Kolkesburg unit near the airport. EUEEN forces took positions near the hangers and bunkers around the airport's easternmost runway where Rettoan fighters remained hunkered in the tree line with hidden ammunition storages in preparation for an attempted hit-and-run strike on staging EUEEN troops. EUEEN helicopters strafed the forest, killing most of the Rettoan fighters and forcing the survivors to flee, but many emerged from the tree line and surrendered. At this point, the airport was declared fully secured as most Rettoan forces were more than a mile away in their retreat and were incapable of mounting further ground counterattacks.