Northern War

Northern War
Letnian infantry attacking a Jedorian position
Date 11 April 1940 - 23 May 1944 Location Jedoria, Letnia, Cherniya, Kolodiya Result Letnian Victory
Belligerents
Letnia	Confederation of Jedoria
Commanders and leaders
Alexis III	Gastons Mihailovs
Strength
5.5 million	4.1 million
Casualties and losses
1.5 million killed 2.9 million wounded	1.1 million killed 2.3 million wounded

The Northern War (Letnian: Северная война, Severnaya voyna, Jedorian: Ziemeļu karš) was a war between Letnia and the Confederation of Jedoria. The war began on 11 April 1940 when Letnia invaded Jedoria following a series of territorial disputes between Jedoria, Letnia, Cherniya, and Kolodiya.

Disputes over territorial claims had long defined the relationship between Letnia and Jedoria, of particular contention being Jedorian control of the highly arable land around Voronezh, inhabited by ethnic Cherniyans but controlled by the Confederation of Jedoria. Attempts to negotiate a peaceful resolution were undermined by Jedorian concerns of growing Letnian influence, exacerbated by Letnian ties with both Cherniya and Kolodiya. Several years of border skirmishes preceded the official outbreak of hostilities, which occurred in April 1940 when Letnian forces invaded Jedorian occupied-Cherniya.

Fielding a large mechanized military , the Letnian Imperial Army quickly delivered a number of defeats on Jedoria's still mobilizing army, but lackluster leadership and poor planning led to a Letnian defeat in the Battle of Voronezh. Subsequent efforts to open up another front failed with another Letnian defeat outside Grestin in October. In the winter the Jedorians counterattacked, driving back the Letnians on all fronts. In the spring a major Jedorian offensive pushed into Letnia itself, eventually reached as far as Stuysk.

Fought along a very broad front in often freezing conditions, the war settled into a quasi-stalemate as both sides traded major offensive operations. In late 1943 the Letnian Imperial Army, having learned from it's mistakes, began pushing Jedorian forces back across the front. In early 1944 Letnia unleashed the Spring Offensives, effectively destroying the Royal Confederate Army and forcing Jedoria to sue for peace. Jedoria was forced to make territorial concessions to Letnia, Kolodiya, and Cherniya.

Although taking place concurrently with the Pan-Septentrion War, the conflict is not typically considered to be part of the wider, although events during the PSW influenced the Northern War and vice versa. Jedoria's defeat is widely considered to be the catalyst for the dissolution of the Confederation and the rise of communism in Jedoria, which would occur a decade later with the Jedorian Revolution.

Background

In the aftermath of the War of Sylvan Succession the Empire of Letnia had found it’s ability to project influence into Casaterra limited by the powerful states of Ostland, Vihoslavia, Sylva, Tyran, and Sieuxerr. Despite leaps and bounds in Letnian industrialization and modernization a war with one of the major powers in Casaterra was an unwelcome thought, and something the Empire was keen to avoid. Still desiring to expand Letnian influence and resource base, the Empire turned it’s attention westward, towards Vinya.

Letnian relations with the Vinyan powers had been largely nonexistent. Kolodiya, large but sparsely populated, was under the influence of the crown, as was Cherniya. The only other two states that bordered the Empire were the Tyrannic colonies of the Galenic States and Jedoria. Jedoria had largely been a nonfactor to Letnian concerns in the preceding centuries due to its fractured nature. The Treaty of Taurach established the unified Confederation of Jedoria in 1843 and finally presented a singular power on Letnia’s southwestern flank. Efforts to corral the fledging Confederation under Letnian influence fell through however, and the rapid industrialization of Jedoria in the 20th century proved alarming to Turov. Jedoria boasted a large population, substantial natural resources including iron, coal, and oil. More concerning to the Empire however was Jedorian control of the Voronezh Coastal Plains. Letnia’s expanding population needed food that the Empire did not produce in sufficient quantities.

Border issues however remained at the forefront of Letnian-Jedorian relations. The Confederation had disputes with all of it’s neighbors, and these continued to serve as an obstacle for Letnian efforts to bring Jedoria under it’s wing.

Letnian-Jedorian relations 1936-1939

Unable to make any progress on the Vinyan front, in 1936 Tsar Alexei III pushed his government to host a diplomatic summit hoping to soothe over relations and bring Jedoria under Letnian influence. The Turov Conference of 1936 hosted by the Tsar began in good spirits but quickly faded as a resolution was not met. Foreign Minister of the Empire Kalagin Lukyan Leonidovich proceeded with the summit by presenting the concerns of the Empire, Cherniya, and Kolodiya under a single manner, which the Jedorians balked at. While the Jedorian delegation (led by Foreign Minister Pranciškus Damidavicius) was willing to negotiate a settlement to the ‘’Cherniyan issue”, the Confederation was less enticed towards Kolodiyan demands, which included abolishing the current Jedorian-Kolodiyan border and moving it south along a line of latitude linking the Savelijs Mountains with Lake Andreja and Nijole. The Jedorians expressed their concern that doing so would leave no strategic buffer between the border and their populated coastline along the Jedorian Sea, to which Leonidovich did not consider a worthy enough justification.

Not helping matters was the Jedorian insistence that their borders rightfully extended as far east as Lake Krayevskaya, which would have placed the city of Borisogansk within Jedorian borders. Mutual suspicious and poor understanding of the other’s intention resulted in a lack of any kind of meaningful compromise, and the Jedorian delegation flew back to Strana Mechty only to state that the conference had been a complete waste of time. To the Letnians and their allies, the conference cemented the opinion that a peaceful resolution with Jedoria in regards to the Voronezh dispute was unattainable.

Subsequently the individual states met in several more meetings between 1936-1939 and some progress was achieved, but without the backing of Letnia such discussions were ultimately rendered moot. The mood in Turov had very much soured after the 1936 Conference and the attitude of the Tsar and his government was towards a more unilateral solution. In 1938 the Imperial General Staff was ordered to commence planning an invasion of Jedoria, specifically the disputed territories of Cherniya and Voronezh.

Letnian Invasion Plans

Despite rapid progress in the 1920s and 30s the Confederation of Jedoria still lagged behind the Letnian Empire in almost all major categories. Combined with the Confederation’s various domestic issues and a lacking strong central government, it was the opinion of the Imperial Staff that a war with Jedoria could be fought and won relatively quickly owing to the material and numerical superiority of the Letnian Imperial Army.

The first plan was laid out in 16 September 1938 and named Operation Pelevin after the 13th Century Letnian Patriarch. Pelevin was to be a two-pronged offensive that would split into three eventual thrusts. The first two avenues of attack would occur on each side of the Talalikhina mountains, with the eastern thrust consisted of a field army composed of two rifle corps and two mechanized corps that would pour into the Voronezh coastal plain and seize control the agricultural base in the area. The second thrust in the west would consist of three mechanized corps and three rifle corps, with one corps of each moving through the Olena valley towards Voronezh, while the other four corps would cut through the Koiv Valley and head for the Jedorian city of Impor on the Matejs peninsula. The capture of Impor was not a necessary objective but was merely intended to draw away Jedorian reserves and allow the Imperial Army to establish complete control over Voronezh. It was expected that at that point the Jedorians would be forced to sue for peace.

While operationally sound, when presented to Marshal Eshman Luchok Vsevolodovich it was met with criticism, mainly due to the lack of strategic consideration towards Letnia’s allies, Cherniya and Kolodiya. Pelevin made no mention of the other two countries nor involved their military forces. When the Tsar was informed of the plan he expressed similar reservations, namely the fear that unilateral Letnian action without any attention given to it’s allies would reflect badly on the Empire and potentially undermine Letnian influence in the region.

With that in mind, Lt. General Susoyev Zigfrids Yakovich wrote up and presented another plan, code named Operation Georgiy after the 11th century Letnian hero of folk lore. Georgiy involved the addition of Kolodiyan and Cherniyan forces by forming three separate field armies. 1st Army stationed out of Plaschizh, 2nd Army in the Talalikhina Mountains, and 3rd Army in Cherniya itself. 1st Army would invade from the north, crossing the border and following the Urtyzh River south, splitting off eastern Jedoria from the rest of the country. 2nd Army would push through the Olena Valley towards Voronezh. The 3rd Army would attack westward from Cherniya and link up with 2nd Army to secure control of the Voronezh coastal plain. No additional effort would be made towards Impor, under the assumption that 1st Army would effectively cut off any additional Jedorian reinforcements and that both 2nd and 3rd Army could hold off whatever Jedorian forces remained on the Matejs peninsula.

Operation Georgiy was better received and was rewarded with the Tsar’s blessing in early 1939. From then on the Letnian Imperial Armed Forces began preparing for the invasion itself.

Forces in the Field

Letnian expectations of an easy victory were founded on three main principals, chiefly the advantages of numerical and material superiority, and the comparatively poor state of the Jedorian military. Letnian manufacturing capability by 1939 had produced well over 17,000 tanks and over 15,000 aircraft, while the Imperial Army itself numbered around 2 million men under arms, with an additional four million in reserve. These numbers were a bit deceptive; many Letnian tanks were light tanks and tankettes rather than medium or heavy tanks, while many aircraft were outdated biplanes outclassed by most contemporary standards. Many Letnian troops came from ethnic minorities or were uneducated peasants, and there was a shortage of mechanics, engineers, and technicians, limiting the use of radios and radar. While widespread mechanization had taken place, the Letnian logistical system had not kept pace, and significant amounts of formations still relied on horse-drawn transportation.

To carry out the invasion the 1st Voldurian Front was formed, composed of a total of four field armies, broken down into seven rifle and seven mechanized corps, with an additional three rifle corps and one mechanized corps in reserve. A total of 34 rifle divisions, 16 tank divisions, 6 mountain divisions, and 2 cavalry divisions were allocated to the invasion, along with two fighter aviation divisions, two bomber aviation divisions, and 5 mixed aviation divisions. Again, these numbers were misleading, as many divisions were in fact little more than brigades, commander by colonels rather than generals, and many of the armored vehicles and airplanes brought forth were dated and of questionable effectiveness. Nevertheless, by late 1939 the Letnians had amassed nearly 700,000 on the border, in addition to nearly 200,000 Cherniyans and Kolodiyans.

If the Letnian war machine was not as impressive as the numbers suggested, the Jedorians were in worse shape. Legally Jedoria had no army; the Treaty of Taurach did not specifify the creation of a unified military service, instead each state was expected to provide for the common defense of the Confederation. The Reforms of 1927 had resolved this somewhat with the creation of a chain of command, uniform systems of organization and ranking, but technically speaking there was still no official Jedorian Army. Historians of this period typically use the term “Royal Confederate Army’ to refer to the Jedorian ground forces of the time, the Royal designation highlighting the fact that many Jedorian forces owed their origin to the royal guards of Jedoria’s many historical kingdoms and royal bloodlines.

The Royal Confederate Army numbered 350,000 men over the entirety of Jedoria, with an additional 500,000 men in reserve. Mechanization had been significantly less in Jedoria. The Confederation lacked major production facilities for armored vehicles, and by 1940 the RCA fielded just 400 tanks, almost half of them foreign purchases. The Aerial Corps fielded 240 aircraft, with 103 modern fighters. Jedoria produced a handful of armored vehicles, a single medium tank design known as the Kr-37, along with some tank destroyers and assault guns. Wheeled vehicles were in short supply due to a lack of rubber, and as a result motorized formations were few and far in between. The RCA relied on 220,000 horses to carry supplies and draw artillery. Equipment was a mixture of domestic and foreign designs. The RCA was organized into three field armies, the First, Second, and Third. Only the First Army was located near Cherniya, with the Second Army in the South and the Third Army further west. If the Jedorians enjoyed any advantages, it was that they carried out regular military exercises which involved rapidly mobilizing and deploying their forces across the country. Jedorian officers were regularly required to write out logistical plans which involved shifting thousands of troops across the country; as a result Jedorian officers were well aware of the capabilities of their formations and their transportation network.

Invasion

Operation Georgiy had been expected to be launched in fall of 1939, with concerns about the approaching winter not taken seriously due to the expectation that the war would be short. Preparation was still underway by October and the winter of 1939-1940 proved to be particularly harsh, and the invasion was postponed until the spring. Additional delays followed as the Letnian logistical system struggled to maintain the supply network to support the entire Front.