Battle of Liang-la
| Battle of Liang-la | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Dawn Coast, where the initial landing occurred | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Themiclesia | Camia | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
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| Strength | |||||||||
| 1,623 | c. 140,000 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 1 (as prisoner) | 231 | ||||||||
The Battle of Liang-la (Shinasthana: 贏嶼之役, liang-la-tje-les; Camian: yeng-yo-je-yih) was a battle fought between Camia and Themiclesia in 1867, through which Camia acquired the Isle of Liang from Themiclesia. Some authorities do not consider the Battle of Liang-la a battle, since the Themiclesian forces did not engage the Camian forces. Immediately after the first Camian troops landed and artillery heard, the Themiclesians quickly asked for a ceasefire; one hour later, the entire encampment surrendered and was held in captivity.
Strategic value of Liang-la
While Camia achieved independence from Themiclesia in 1701, the terms of the secession did not include the Isle of Liang, which was geographically closer to Camia than Themiclesia. During the 18th century, the large Themiclesian navy often used the island as a base of operations against encroachment by the Tyrannian Royal Navy in the Halu'an Sea, particularly its west coast. However, in the Raid on Rad, the Royal Navy burnt the bulk of the Consolidated Fleet at its home port, reducing its size in hulls by four-fifths; Themiclesia, burdened by her commitments to the Second Maverican War, which necessitated a large land army, did not rebuild the fleet. After the war, the hawkish faction was silenced by public discontent, and the Themiclesian Navy was left with only a handful of ships that could no longer contest the dominance of the Royal Navy even in the Halu'an Sea. The Isle of Liang, therefore, became an object of embarrassment, as its geographical position offered Themiclesia luring opportunities that it could not presently exploit. The Navy therefore chose to have the island defended and fortified for future use. The Naval Engineers (then an independent department of the Navy) were sent to build several layers of defensive walls around the island and fourteen forts. Four regiments of marines were sent to guard it from foreign design, and the Navy often sailed by it or docked on it to declare their ownership of the island.
However, after the Liberal Party came to power in 1845, the Navy's role was further reduced, as government policy, to coastal defence, but the isle was not to be abandoned. The four regiments of marines on the island were gradually reduced to one regiment; it was the government's hope that the visible fortifications would give the impression the island was more well-guarded than it really was, when most of its troops have been withdrawn and disbanded. However, as Camia began to adopt a more aggressive foreign policy in the 1840s, the excessive foritifications on the island was seen as a threat to the nation's security. In particular, the Camian Navy on multiple occasions stated to the government that "Liang was the singular place where a Themiclesian invasion would start," and the number of fortifications was used to calculate the amount of soldiers that could be, at a moment's notice, shipped over to the Camian coast and begin the invasion. In 1841, the Camian Navy estimated that as many as 20,000 Themiclesians could be on the island; two years later, that figure was revised to 50,000. In 1854, it was further elevated to 120,000. While the Camian government was skeptical of these claims, during the 1850s they increased naval and army expenditure and made plans for such a hypothetical invasion. Due to the gross miscalculation of the amount of troops on Liang, the Camian government did not prohibit the army or navy to develop several plans for a pre-emptive invasion of the island and, in fact, authorized exercised to be carried out in simulation of such an action, though assurances were given to Themiclesia that the government had "no aggressive intention of any kind on the island to towards Themiclesia."
Planning for invasion
On Nov. 19, 1866, Admiral Mundy of the Camian Navy visited the house of General Sek, then acting chief of the General Staff of the Camian Army, and expressed his desire to go forward with one of the plans of an invasion of Liang. While Sek was a moderate and advised caution, Mundy galvanized the general and the officers around him saying that the conquest of Liang was the "final piece of the Revolution started 150 years ago". Quickly, the two parties came to an agreement, and a large force was assembled on the Camian coast, awaiting the navy's ships to bring them to the island. The Camian Army, only recently formed, was unexpectedly enthusiastic for the opportunity to "try out their shiney new weapons", while the Camian Navy, the organizational successor of the Colonial Army, was keen to "accomplish its historic goals to eliminate the Themiclesian menace". Two-thirds of the army was mobilized for this invasion, with a force encompassing infantry, cavalry, artillery, scouts, and numerous others. The Camian Rangers, mounted troops who were also part of the Colonial Army, were meant to spearhead the invasion once they reached the coast.
The invasion plan called for the entire coastline of the island be divided into 22 points where troops would land. The Camian Navy was responsible for landing troops at the natural harbour on the island, on the side near to the Camian coast, while the Army was to embark westwards from the north, south, and east, where small boats can ferry the troops to the beach unmolested. The reasoning for this arrangement is that the harbour was assumed to be more heavily guarded, and engagement was easier if the Navy's marines, who have been trained to fight in such a scenario, landed there; on the other hand, the beaches were assumed to be less guarded and could be used as staging ground for other troops. Ultimately, since the Camians did not know which fort was manned and to what degree, they had assumed that all of the fortifications were fully ready for combat, so the entire island had to be covered to prevent Themiclesians from mustering together or having any room for maneouvres.
Invasion
The entire invasion force was ferried over to Liang in an orderly fashion by the Camian Navy's North Floatilla and other ships in the early morning of Dec. 25, 1866. To the Camian Navy's surprise, the harbour was not guarded, and four regiments of marines successfully captured the fort overlooking the harbour with no casualties. On the other side of the island, the 5th and 8th Divisions off-loaded and stood in formation, soon marching west. The Camian Rangers, on their mounts, went ahead of the army to scout for enemy activity, though they found none; all the fortifications they encountered were deserted. Next day, they continued marching and seizing the fortifications they came across, and a few days into the invasion, some commanders wondered if the island was inhabited at all. Nevertheless, on Jan. 2, 1867, the 14th Division came across a fort with a smoking chimney and soon called for artillery support. The invasion force converged on a single, medium-sized structure. Without giving the enemy a chance to communicate, bombardment began around 9 p.m. that day. The three Themiclesian units that were on the island, the 2nd Marines, the 6th Naval Engineers, and the 641st Royal Signals, panicked amongst themselves about the sheer size of the invasion force. As the marines were the largest unit (regiment size), the two other commanders asked for the opinion of the colonel of the 2nd, Trjuk Dzjin-niang, who initially contemplated in silence. The Royal Signals captain pressed if the Themiclesian Navy would send relief, but Trjuk said,
If the Camian Navy is here, then our navy can hardly save itself, not to mention us. That is, even if you ignore what appears to be the Camian Army here as well.
Then, the major of the naval engineers opined,
There comes a point when one must act from conscience and resolutely surrender. My men have not confided their lives in me for zealotry but soundness of judgment, and as their major I feel bound to surrender.
At which point, the captain of the Royal Signals company added that,
If the nemesis is what a regiment and a battalion would not contest, then reason demands that the company surrender as well.
Whereupon the trio walked out of the fortification and announced their surrender, each bearing a bedsheet on a branch as their white flags. Their men were taken as prisoners by the Camians.
Aftermath
The military-backed Camian press was initially indignant about the "battle" that transpired, waxing that "our boys" did not get the "taste of blood" that they yearned for. The Themiclesian press, especially the Conservative papers, heckled at the Camian military for the futility of its massive invasion force, calling it a "farce of an invasion, taking the most ignominious refuge in numbers, in the most risible and catastrophic sense". The Shinasthana Globe, a Liberal paper, uncharacteristically echoed the Conservatives' sentiment, printing in an editorial,
Chance that we had more than one regiment, one battalion, and one company on that island, what would become of the Camians?
The Foreign Office ransomed all three units back to Themiclesia in February; aside from a case of acute pneumonia that carried off one marine in prison, the Themiclesians suffered no casualties during and after the battle. This statistic was emphasized to show that the Camians had lost more men, horses, and artillery pieces than did the Themiclesians.