Sieuxerrian-Saintonge War
Sieuxerrian-Saintonge War | |||||||
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Part of the Casaterran Front of the Pan-Septentrion War | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Supported by: |
Supported by: | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Napoléon IV | Charles III | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
6,500,000 (March, 1942) |
1,100,000 (March, 1942) | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
400,000 dead | 300,000 dead |
The Sieuxerrian-Saintonge War, known in Saintonge as the xxx and in Sieuxerr as the Guerre de la Troisième Coalition (War of the Third Coalition), was apart of the Pan-Septentrion War and focused mostly between Saintonge and Sieuxerr with nominal and mostly materiel support from their respective allied powers.
Background
Ideologies
Forces
Conduct of operations
Situation Noir: June 1937
Starting before sunrise on 11 June 1937, the combined Casaterran Axis forces started a series of airstrikes on key Sieuxerrian Army and Air Force locations. These strikes were mostly effective, however certain strikes on rear area airfields were many of the Sieuxerrian Air Force's interceptor fighters were of varying quality. Many planes were destroyed, however many pilots and non-aircraft vehicles were left intact, allowing for these pilots and vehicles to be moved to rear-areas and equipped again with new aircraft. One of these wings, the 21st Fighter Wing would become vital in the later Battle of Líme, generating the most aces out of any combat unit in the Sieuxerrian Air Force during the Pan-Septentrion War.
As airfields were hit, other locations were hit such as ammo depots, radio posts, and also known command buildings. Many of these locations had been found during a period of radio-interception operations and rear-area reconnaissance conducted by the Saintongian Department of Public Relations and Intelligence, known as DEPRI. After the majority of airstrikes had ended, DEPRI agents conducted a series of sabotage missions against communication centers and storage depots, these strikes would further complicate and compromise Sieuxerrian response for days until much of the area would be overrun.
With the end of the airstrikes, artillery from ground forces began to bombard close Sieuxerrian positions. Many of the fifty divisions the Axis had committed to the front launched their assault. Saintongian Army Group North, AGN, would cross the Moselle River, it had its three armies along with an additional corps attached from the Kerenevoian Army Group "Henze", AGH. In the south, across the Vassivière Lake, was the rest of the Kerenevoian AGH and the Ostlandic Army Group "Oehlenschläger", AGO. In total the force had over 1.4 million personnel, 2,300 tanks, and over 10,000 tube artillery.
Opposing them would be Army Group 2 with its three armies and ten corps. It contained thirty-two infantry divisions, roughly half of these divisions were comprised of pre-war professional troops, while the rest were a mixture of pre-war reservists and recently mobilized draftees. This would result in a varying quality in terms of each division which would result in dire effects. In addition to the infantry were some fourteen tank brigades, allocated to one per corps with armies getting one as well. Each of these infantry support tank brigades on paper were to have some ninety tanks, however many of these were under-equipped, some having only enough to fill out singular tank platoons. The divisions also tended to all lack adequate anti-tank equipment as well. In total, roughly 650,000 Sieuxerrian army personnel with some 700 tanks and 6,000 tube artillery were present at the start.
Within a week much of the Sieuxerrian Army Group 1, (GA 1), had been encircled and destroyed.
Department of Public Relations and Intelligence, known as DEPRI,