Chyhyryn War

Chyhyryn War
Part of prelude to Great War
(clockwise from top left) Vinalian cavalry in 1925. Remains of the Velkarichka Library following Ardesian shelling. Vinalian soldiers around Casimirsk in 1926. Ardesian soldiers storming houses during the Battle of Catherinsk.
Date 19 July 1925 - 3 October 1926 (1 year, 2 months and 2 weeks) Location Vinalia Status Ardesian victory -Treaty of Velkarichka signed -Vinalian lands south of the Shryoniy river turned into the Shyroniy Administrative Council -Creation of the Vinalian Salvation Government north of the Shryoniy -Vinalian government-in-exile established in the AFR
Belligerents
Ardesia Supported by Entente Gaullica	File:FirstRepofVinFlag.png Vinalia Supported by Grand Alliance Soravia Aucurian Republic
Commanders and leaders
Dinis Montecara Alberte Goulart Martim Gouveia Dinis Luz	File:FirstRepofVinFlag.png Dymtro Antonov File:FirstRepofVinFlag.png Mykhaylo Baibuza
Strength
Ardesia 426,000-540,000 (Summer 1925)	File:FirstRepofVinFlag.png Vinalia 250,000 (1925)
Casualties and losses
Ardesia 105,000 dead (from battle or disease) 192,000 wounded 16,274 missing	File:FirstRepofVinFlag.png Vinalia 140,000-190,000 dead 273,000-353,000 casualties 140,000 dead. 273,000 casualties 1936 Official Report 130,826 dead. 293,000 casualties Melynk 193,390 dead. 353,000 casualties Ivanov
98,019 killed overall ≥900,000 internally displaced & ~1,740,000 refugees

The Chyhyryn War, known in Vinalia as the War of Humiliation (Soravian: Війна приниження; Viyna Prynyzhennya) took place between Ardesia and Vinalia from 19 July 1925 to 3 October 1926. It is seen as an example of the expansionist policy that characterized the Entente powers and the ineffectiveness of the international order before the outbreak of the Great War.

Ardesian Irredentism regarding the Vinalian territories south of the Chyhyryn, was seen as a threat to the Vinalian republic. Growing tensions between both states culminated in a July concentration of troops by both sides. On the 19th of July 1925, over four hundred thousand soldiers of the Ardesian army under Alberte Goulart crossed the border and attacked Vinalian forces. Although the Vinalian was amassed in the south, it was not prepared for the Ardesian use of Armoured warfare, which quickly overran and overwhelmed Vinalian forces. Close to 30,000 Vinalian soldiers were captured as the Vinalian army retreated across the Chyhyryn river. Vinalia opted to fight the Ardesian forces in the river and the cities of Velkarichka and Catherinsk, at the time the largest and third largest cities in Vinalia, with the Vinalian government evacuating Velkarichka.

The Ardesian army was unable to mount a proper cross-river operation and instead got bogged down in urban fighting in both Catherinsk and Velkarichka. Intense Ardesian Strategic bombing had destroyed much of both historic cities. Vinalian troops pulled out of Velkarichka on November 10th 1925. Ardesia launched the invasion of Kishark on November 15th 1925, occupying the entire island after two weeks. Ardesian forces would launch renewed attacks across the Chyhyryn utilizing their beachhead in Velkarichka on the 20th of December 1925. Completing an encirclement of Catherinsk on the 5th of January 1926. Vinalian troops would remain inside Catherinsk until the 30th of January 1926. Vinalian forces would fight back Ardesian attacks across the Shyroniy river until Ardesian troops crossed it on the 4th of April 1926. Ardesian troops had occupied most of the country up to the Bin River by August 1926. Tensions in the Asterias had prompted Ardesia to redeploy its forces. A failed September counter-offensive by Vinalian forces to overrun the Ardesian defenses, lead to the collapse of the Antonov government in September as Ardesian forces successfully crossed the Bin river on September 30th, with Hennadiy Merkushko being appointed as President to come to terms with the Ardesian state.

Vinalia agreed to an armistice that split the country in two on October 1926, creating the Shyroniy Administrative Council which was occupied by Ardesian forces until it was annexed in 1929. With the rest of the country remaining under the collaborationist, client-state of the Vinalian Salvation Government until 1935. A Vinalian-government-in-exile was established immediately following the armistice, which was based in Assunçã, AFR until 1935.

The war is seen as many as the impetus for the latter Asterian theatre of the Great War, as Ardesia cited the AFR housing the Vinalian government-in-exile as justification for hostilities. The war featured Armoured warfare, Amphibious warfare, Combined arms, Close air support, Trench warfare, and Urban Warfare prominently which became commonplace in the conflict a couple months later. The war also unleashed large-scale atrocities, including the purposeful targeting of civilians due to strategic bombing.

Background

Colonial origins

The territorial dispute stemmed from disagreements between Ardesia and Vinalia as to the nature of the border, with Ardesia claiming Colonial Povelian claims which established the border at the Chyhyryn, while Vinalia supported the status quo established at the Congress of Cislania which gave the Colony of Vinalia lands up to the Meka River. Paretia which had annexed Ardesia, never claimed the former borders as did any Ardesian entities until the Ardesian State in 1914.

The Chyhyryn in 1889

Povelian explorers and settlers had arrived to the Tzapotlan Empire in 1523, easily defeating it and claiming the land. Povelia made wide claims to territorial control as was common at the time. Vinalia, discovered in 1568 by Soravian explorer Afanasij Orlev, quickly made similar large claims. When Grigori Kosh arrived at the mouth of the Chyhyryn in 1570, he too made a claim to the entire region and founded the city of Catherinsk. At the time the area between the Meka and Chyhyryn rivers was still considered to be the frontier of Povelian settlement and was inhabited mostly by indigenous rump states. The conflict began to arise as to the overlapping claims by both states as settlers began competing for land and alliances in the Chyhyryn River, but the number of settlers of either Euclean power was limited. Povelia clarified the claim in 1573 by stating that Novo Povelia reached all the way to the Chyhyryn River, while Soravia never clarified their claims. The rapid expansion of the sugar industry in both countries brought renewed interest to the region. Povelian settlers founded the town of Granoso Sud on the southern bank of the river, opposite to Catherinsk. In 1620 Soravian interests in the region grew, and the Soravian crown paid for the settlement of 2,000 people on the river basin.

The dispute between the Povelian and Soravian colonial settlers would be finally settled at the Congress of Cislania. As Soravia saw victory over the Estermo-Povelian league at the battle of Kisharsk, they had been able to reinforce its respective claims over the Chyhyryn now with supplemented troops. Incursions to expand their claimed territory beyond the river had seen failure. Incidents such as the Battle of Atlapulco had shown any further attempt at expanding their reach into Novo Povelia would be futile due to the vast Ardesian heat and jungle northeast. With the rest of Novo Povelia now belonging to the losing side of the war, it had been annexed by Paretia as they had been promised the prized Ardese lands for their participation. A portion of the Vespasians in Ardesia had been expelled by the Paretians, including those in the so-called ‘Granoso’ region, being the lands below the Shyroniy River. Those remaining in the coastal colonial settlements of Porto Belo and Sotiri were allowed their land if they had followed an oath of allegiance to the Paretians.

Tensions now with the departed Povelians and Soravians were seemingly settled with the assistance of the Paretians. However, the collective of a growing independence movement within the colony had sought a reprisal of their former territory being taken away by their perceived colonial overseers. This rapidly grew over the course of a century as the policy of reprising desired lands post-independence was widespread, particularly among the settlers fitting to expand acres of land into the Granoso. These expansionist policies were not only limited to the administered crown colony of Vinalia but to a lesser extent the far-east regions of Eldmark concurrently held as a disputed territory between them and Ardesia due to the uncontrolled plethora of Ardesian settlers seeking newfound resources and reaffirming the national borders.

These culminated in the brief 1st Eldmarsk-Ardesian War, seeing results favoring neither side and only more cases of Ardesian irredentism. Ardesian irredentism had also grown to a component of challenging Euclean hegemony over the Asterias, particularly the Îles de Claude in the Arucian Strait. This was the cause of the War of the Arucian which had only been a failure for the Aucuro-Ardesian alliance of the Aquinas Treaty. The focus of anti-Gaullican sentiment shifted away to a more convenient target of reprising their held territorial claims, being the Granoso region of a now independent Vinalia in 1885, however enacting this wouldn’t be a priority due to Ardesia’s reduced military capacity and its capitals occupied by the Gaullicans well into the early 1890s.

Gaullican officers in Rémont, Gaullica was key to Ardesia's learning of the Euclean modeling of the military and instructed multiple military exercises prior.

Ardesian functionalism's rise and the Bloody Decade

Dinis Montecara in 1926

Notably, the origins of Ardesia’s irredentist cases have remained in the mind of fringe embittered Ardesian statesmen, politicians, clergy, and the military. It didn’t prevent the decisions of citizens to frequent and even immigrate to these countries, building notable communities and diasporas such as the Ardesians resident of Catherinsk. Beyond this, the idea of a ‘Grande Ardesia’ popularly phrased by many functionalists grew to be quickly popular among the general population as it acknowledged the rise of their own functionalist party, the Sotirian Functionalist Action. A reason for this was one applicable to every country seeing its fringe parties rise, being out of the economic and social catastrophe of the Great Collapse. The SFA head and former seaman, Dinis Montecara, had already adopted the mold of Ardesian irredentist claims to the Granoso as complimentary of Ardesian functionalism. Dinis Montecara’s failure to be elected as President quickly led to him spearheading a coup popular among the military and bicoastal elite, cementing himself as the Caudilho in 1914. Utilizing their territorial claims as one of their popular aggressive policies became popular in the public conscience. Montecara certainly wasn’t the first dissident to hold the belief of realizing the ideology of ‘Grande Ardesia’, but was the first to properly forge a doctrine among his general chief of staff to begin plans of invasions, the first target being Vinalia.

Vinalia was the first to become a target of Ardesian demands for a plurality of reasons, the first being the perceived notion to assert over Vinalia’s internal instability as it entered its ‘Bloody Decade’, lasting from 1909 to 1922. An example of the instability reaching Ardesia was the cases of violence against Ardesians in Catherinsk from the actions of Vinalia’s own functionalist group, the Vinalian League of Nationalists. Montecara had made numerous choices of publicly and privately vowing to “liberate Ardesians from the Vinalian plight of terror.” Numerous other callouts were made against various Vinalian presidents for their ineffectiveness against the rampant political violence and economic downturn, such as Avhust Martynova of the Federal Democrats and Davyd Dragomanov of the Episemialist Democrats. What had also made Vinalia the first target of invasion was the fact that the Granoso remained a vital grain-producing of the country, and to ensure the success of the rest of their invasions, it had been a top priority to secure this region. On 3 September 1924, feigned attempts at diplomacy were made by Foreign Minister Pedro Venâncio with Vinalia’s respective delegates to buffer lands below the Chyhyryn and establish a ‘staging point’ at Ivanovo on the island of Kisharsk with the benefit of a share of the ports at Porto Belo through the East Arucian. The offer had been lambasted by the various elements of the Vinalian Parliament and Foreign Ministry.

Vinalian troops moving through Catherinsk, 1925

Sotirian Functionalist Action rally in Porto Belo, 1922

Reactions from Vinalia toward Ardesia’s continuously aggressive decisions for the past decade led to the prioritization of their own military, doubling it by 1924. Overconfidence in Ardesian prospects of overrunning Vinalian forces had come a decade prior with the entrance into the Entente, becoming a notable member alongside the functionalist-ruled Gaullica and Shangea, with Gaullica also overseeing plans of invading through their various neighboring Euclean countries. The backbone of the Entente would be securing threats from each ally's own territorial ambitions, Ardesia would be granted the benefits of co-belligerent and principal nations' industrial output, mainly the materiels and primarily Gaullica’s military doctrine to launch the invasion in the first place. Even outside the Ardesian military, the Federal Police would see themselves heavily militarized to assist in the invasion as the role of military police.

As the response among Vinalia to counter Ardesia’s maneuvers was to expand their own military, exercising it was also a focus to optimize their success in the ensuing invasion. Ardesian intelligence had caught on to the maneuvers of the Vinalian navy moving ships to Novyy Samistopol and the army moving troops for exercises to Catherinsk. The census among the Ardesian ministries such as the Ministry of War and Ministry of Social and Political Vigilance was to greenlight both the armed forces and the population of commencing the invasion of Vinalia. The MSPV had made the effort of relentless propaganda of a Vinalina ‘incursion’ due to this build-up, and that the ‘neuter’ of the Shyroniy and possible government change was a necessity. These served as a pretext for invasion among the population later on, thus beginning the crossing of Ardesian units across their border on the night of 18 July 1925. Only by 19 July was an official declaration of invasion of Vinalia announced on Radio Television of Ardesia by Dinis Montecara.

Ardesian Invasion (1925-1926)

A general summary of Ardesian and Vinalian troop movements

Ardesian troops of the 2nd Army crossing the Vinalian border, July 1925

Initial phase

On 19 July 1925, Ardesian forces crossed the Vinalian border with a total of 36 divisions under its 6 field armies. The 1st Army under Alberte Goularte was the first to move engaged forces to the outskirts of Novyy Lipa. The trouble with Ardesian planning was their limited direction of attacks only being from the south of the country, and with that came the prioritization of mechanized forces to prevent proper Vinalian defense. The only extent of flanking came with attacks forked into 3, from the Northeast reaching the end of the Chyhyryn with the 6th and 4th Armies, to the east targeting Velkarichka with the 3rd and 5th Army, and Catherinsk with the 1st and 2nd Army.

Ardesian air forces immediately began to bomb and strafe the southern cities of Catherinsk and Novyy Lipa, targeting the military and civilians. The abundance of mechanized units overrunning the Vinalian defensive positions stunted Vinalia’s chance of delaying their advances. The 1st and 2nd Armies had quickly cut off Novyy Lipa from the rest of the country, with engagement creeping further and further to the center of the city, eventually being defeated within those 2 days. By 21 July 10,000 soldiers were captured within the encirclement.

Ardesian heavy artillery aiming in the outskirts of Catherinsk in August 1925

The Battle of Mesk with the pincer movements of Ardesian armor encircling the town as well as capturing 15,000 saw the first engagement with the proper use of the tanks in the war. In under a week lands below the Chyhyryn were majorly ceded to the encroaching Ardesian forces that had now captured 34,000 men. The security of land now gave the opportunity of shelling the remaining cities inland with artillery. In response, the residents of Velkarichka were evacuated by 25 July due to the quick amounting deaths of civilians. In the south on 1 August 1925, attempts to break through the Chyhyryn between the now besieged cities of Velkarichka and Catherinsk were met with failure at the battle of Myrne and continued fighting defenses at Velkarichka. This gave the Vinalians a boost of morale as this was the first time Ardesian advances were prevented from further engulfing the cities. Elements of the 1st and 2nd Army that had handled the battles at Mesk and Novyy Lipa spearheaded an assault towards Catherinsk with the support of artillery and strategic bombing by 3 August 1925, thus beginning the siege of Catherinsk. António Cardoso’s led 6th and 4th Armies had reached the north of the Chyhyryn within the Tzirari Desert, rear guarding with the Police Corps of Porto Sotiri, Rio Leste, and Nova Vespasia. Cardoso’s advancements led to the unresisted capture of Irshava before the 4th Army’s 6 divisions continued to penetrate deep before reaching Southern Bin and being in the vicinity of Mejargaska.

Vinalian trenches at Myrne

Ardesian bombers had attacked both military civilian targets throughout the war.

Vinalia’s attempt at supplementing the infantry forces with naval and air units throughout the course of the war had been ultimately destroyed. As the entirety of the Vinalian air forces were mere scout planes to give the ground forces advantages in intelligence, they were destroyed by strategic bombing in the first weeks of the war. Overall out of the 110 scout planes fit for operations, 92 of them were destroyed. It had been a worse case for the navy, they were stationed at Novyy Samistopol a week prior to the invasion but had faced relentless sorties by Ardesian air. The result was multiple not only the vessels but the fuel and repair stations destroyed. This didn’t destroy the entirety of the Vinalian navy, however, but would considerably remove any chance of making a meaningful effect over the course of the conflict for the next months. Though this seemed successful, it came with a major cost of 53 aircraft over the course of Ardesia’s 320 sorties. Ardesian naval incursions between the mainland and Kisharsk wouldn’t commence before the aging torpedo boats among the East Arucian fleet would be improvised as minesweepers. The prevention of prospected allied shipping and destroying coastal depots would be the main goal of the fleet, and heavy monitoring would be successful and fully isolate Vinalia.

The initial weeks of the war would draw to a close, as it had been largely a success in neutering core elements of the Vinalian navy and airforce and capturing over 64,000 men by 3 August. It had been a failure in securing the entirety of land below the Chyhyryn, as capturing all of it would mean the capitulation of the forces at Catherinsk and Velkarichka. The forces at both cities were cornered within the range of the suburban and urban areas of the cities, with the rest of the territory outside now occupied by Ardesia. The battles of both cities were important as it meant the continual struggle of the cities would be a delay in continuing operations forward north of Vinalia, and could possibly see relief by Vinalian forces if Ardesian numbers wither through the total war inflicted on them. Velkarichka’s fall was important to the Ardesian general staff as if it fell it would enable the 3rd and 5th Army under Tiago Vaz to continue an offensive crossing the Shyroniy with Goularte’s forces. Had they fail, it’d rejuvenate the Vinalian war effort.

Battle of Catherinsk

Civilian deaths in the southern bank of Catherinsk, 17 August 1925

The 1st and 2nd Armies of 12 divisions were directed to sprint towards Catherinsk to capture it at the start of the invasion. Initially, the majority of the lands below the Chyhyryn and the city besieged led to the Ardesian forces maintaining strong points along with Velkarichka. Ardesia’s offensive toward the city would be hindered by the Chyhyryn splitting the city, leading to the northern bank’s capture as a priority after the capitulation of the southern bank. The battle began with the divisions successful in their capture of Mesk, now leaving them room to begin the campaign of constant artillery and bombings of Catherinsk by 1 August 1929. Initial infantry advancements to capture a southern bank of the city and pursue the retreating Vinalian forces led to the immediate slowing of the Ardesians due to their ad hoc mounted defense and lack of armor support.

Vinalian anti-air craft unit in Southern Catherinsk

While the Ardesians were slow in the suburban engagements, they were due to the first instance of the brutal house-to-house fighting now earning them high casualties. The relief of the forces would be given by the rampant strategic bombing that had now flattened 70% of the city within the first week of the battle. During the fighting, it was noted that while the civilians were evacuated in Velkarichka, their counterparts in Catherinsk remained, leading to a high number of civilian deaths purposely targeted by strafing. Civilian housing had all been reduced to the rubble that now spread to the northern bank, leading to one incident of a civilian evacuation on a ferry toward the north being targeted by Ardesian air on 14 August, killing an estimated 764. Deterrents against constant air raids were put upon the 54th Anti-Aircraft Regiment of the Vinalian ground forces, being one of the few glimmers of optimism among the Vinalian side as it had downed well over 34 bombers over the course of the week after 18 August. Regardless, the Vinalian ground units in the city had been constantly hampered by the strafing, assisting further in Ardesia’s grueling slow advance nearing the river. Vinalia would continue warding off heavy gains in the territory by the Ardesians well into September, as they had begun a final advance in the south to push them to the northern bank, giving them a strong point in the city.

Ardesian tanks parading through the center of Catherinsk after the end of the siege, 15 January 1926

Southern Catherinsk after the Vinalian retreat in September 1925.

September marked numerous engagements in Catherinsk that would spell defeat for the Vinalians, as the artillery regiments of the 3rd and 23rd Divisions of the 2nd Army engaged in a 48-Hour bombardment before the infantry of both armies would advance in a breakthrough among the various destroyed cultural buildings towards the Vinalian forces now holding onto the bare southern bank of the river. The attack saw 5,700 deaths for the Vinalians, with the Ardesian side counting 7,800 within only 12 hours of the assault. The anchored defense of the bare southern bank was a success for the Vinalians, as they were able to supplement reinforcements across the Chyhyryn towards the end of the assault. The Vinalian general staff had seen the needless holding of the southern bank would only prolong further casualties among their men, and had decided to make plans for an evacuation across the Chyhyryn towards the north to mount a tougher and better defense against the Ardesians. This seemed well and good due to the fact it’d put more pressure on the Ardesians to switch to an amphibious assault across the river, and with the success at Velkarichka and Myrne, it’d be seemingly the same for forces at Catherinsk.

On 20 September the Vinalian forces made a covered retreat under artillery to cross the north bank through the Chyhyryn. However, the rapid response from Ardesian artillery had prompted a disorganized manner of retreat eventually evolving into a panicked stampede. It was figured the sabotage of the last remaining undamaged Shishkina Bridge would leave any remaining civilians and personnel to the fate of the frustrated Ardesian troops that had failed to capture the whole city in under weeks resulting in a possible massacre of any POWs. In the aftermath of this incident and the failure of sabotaging the remaining bridge, Ardesian forces quickly fought for control of this bridge. As the rest of the southern bank and remaining Vinalian forces were captured, it numbered to 3,000 troops left behind. The Battle of the Shishkina Bridge on 27 September would be part of a two-prong attack with the attacking bridge flank held as a diversion as a mustered amphibious force of the 1st Armies 26th Infantry Regiment was to cross the northern bank of the Chyhyryn and secure a beachhead. The regiment’s amphibious landings were to their surprise met with fierce Vinalian resistance, and it had finally been in the position of comfort as both positions near the bridge and at the landings were immediately relieved as they had now benefited with the same condition as their units in Velkarichka. Continued exchanges of artillery and skirmishes upon each bank by the opposing sides would be the status quo for the entirety of the winter. The objective had shifted as they deemed the retreat of Vinalian forces to the north bank a success, and could now rely on the forces at Velkarichka to defeat the Vinalian troops there. Further was to complete an encirclement, and trap the soldiers at Catherinsk below the Chyroniy with no relief.

November would be important for Ardesia as Vinalia retreated from Velkarichka due to heavy losses and completed the planned encirclement by December, despite Vinalian attempts at canceling this. Ardesian armored units would see their use again to cover the speedy approach to the Kosene over the 1st and 2nd Armies still engaging with the Vinalians at Catherinsk. They approached the vicinity of Novyy Samistopol and would also begin to besiege it. During these engagements along the Chyroniy, Vinalia would make several missions in properly retreating their remaining men out of Catherinsk to avoid mass surrendering, but would ultimately see a huge remaining portion fail to escape the encirclement. The 5th Army would be sent to immediately pressure the Vinalians from the north for the next week after New Year, and would ultimately see the remaining soldiers at Catherinsk officially surrendering, thus concluding the battle. The battle had been a pyrrhic victory for the Ardesians, as they heavily invested in their 1st and 2nd Armies to cover the entire city months before its actual capitulation, but ultimately the unintended relief of the 5th Army by January would prove otherwise.

Battle of Velkarichka

The battling over Velkarichka had been more successful for the Ardesian invasion plan as it had spanned shorter within the initial summer invasion. Elements of the 3rd and 5th Army would spearhead with the assistance of their armored units, piercing quickly through Vinalian defenses due to their insufficient lack of anti-tank weapons. Within 4 days after the initial invasion Velkarichka would evacuate all of its civilians out of the cities before the ensuing fighting. Evacuation primarily happened as the immediate result of civilian casualties amidst the shelling of the city by the Ardesians, reaching deaths reported as high as 232. With the plan of encircling the two major cities below the Shyroniy beginning with the fighting at Velkarichka, it was emphasized as a vital duty among the troops, thus the units fighting would be relentless in this attempt in securing the suburban areas of the city. The 3rd Army would send their 3 divisions quickly to seize the entire southern bank below the city, succeeding with Vinalia orderly retreating their forces.

Vinalia anticipated an Ardesian crossing of the Shyroniy into the village of Meka with the help of their artillery scouts, quickly reinforcing their western flank to stomp this attack. The resultant Battle of Meka would result in a victory marking the first significant victory for Vinalia, as they had considerably delayed the movements of attempted encirclement. Redrawn plans were the inclusion of liberally bombing the city over the course of multiple runs throughout August.

Bin offensive

The Shyroniy Administration was a creation of the Treaty of Velkarichka, before being annexed by the Ardesian State in 1929 as the state of 'Granoso'.

Treaty of Velkarichka

-Vinalian surrender of all territories south of the Chyhyryn River

-Velkarichka and Catherinsk to remain unmilitarized

-Vinalian war reparations

-Vinalia to cease all support for the Entente, and fighting with the Grand Entente

-Vinalia to recognize all territorial acquisitions of the Grand Alliance

-Vinalia to restrict trade with Grand Alliance powers

-Vinalia to reoccupy lost territory at a pace of 10 days behind Ardesian troops

-Ardesia to abandon all territory north of the Shryoniy river