Zemplen War
The Zemplen War (Syaran: Zemplenska vojna) was a major conflict fought between Ruvelka and Syara over the long-disputed territory of Zemplen. The war took place between 23 May 2008 to 19 July 2010 following a period of heightened tensions between the two nations over the Zemplen territory, a border province that was populated primarily by ethnic Ruvelkans but controlled by Syara. After a period of escalation, conventional hostilities broke out that pitted largely two equal powers against one another in what would be one of the bloodiest conflicts in Tyran of the 21st Century.
Syara and Ruvelka had long fought over disputed territory following the collapse of the Arkoennite Empire. During the Ruvelkan Civil War, Syara had invaded and occupied several regions of western Ruvelka and maintained a number of these territories even in the era following the end of the Siduri War, the Zemplen area being the largest in terms of size and population. Per an agreement between the Syaran and Ruvelkan governments, both sides had deployed peacekeepers to the area in an attempt to reduce tensions. In 2005 the two nations came to blows in the Imerti Conflict, a brief five day war that further soured relations between Ruvelka and Syara. After a rise in nationalist activity, however, the Syarans doubled the size of their peacekeeping force. While this increase in military presence was within the parameters of the agreement, the build-up was heavily armed and included tanks and artillery. Ruvelka protested and responded with an increase in its own forces. A series of unresolved standoffs followed and eventually broke out into fighting between the two sides, prompting both nations to mobilize their armed forces. Attempts to mediate the conflict failed after neither side was able to come to an agreement.
Syaran and Ruvelkan forces were largely evenly matched in terms of numbers, technology, and training. The Syaran Commonality Armed Forces were able to seize the initiative in the late summer, taking control of the disputed border territories. Syaran expectations that Ruvelka would sue for peace after losing control of the border regions were dashed when Chancellor Edviná Molnár refused to negotiate. SCAF Central Command devised a new strategy to destroy the Imperial Armed Forces of Ruvelka to force a settlment, resulting in Operation Aspis. The fighting only widened as a result, locking both nations in a protracted conflict. In late November Ruvelka launched a strategic counter-offensive that lasted until late December, which reduced Syaran gains across the entire front. In the Spring of 2009 Syara launched a a series of offensives into southern Ruvelka, resulting in a stalemate around Aszód. Syara then launched a major offensive against central Ruvelka resulting in the Battle of Sagerejo, the bloodiest battle of the war. Another offensive in the north In mid-2009 resulted in the capture of Kaposvár and Kunhegyes, but heavy Syaran casualties forced the SCAF to suspend major offensive operations. After a failed offensive in the fall, both sides settled into a statelmate during the Winter of 2009-2010. Ruvelka began gathering its strategic reserves for a major offensive, which it unleashed in June, throwing the frontline into dissarray and forcing Syara to withdraw from Ruvelka entirely. Both sides agreed to a ceasefire in July.
The peace talks were mediated by Shalum and resulted in the Treaty of Aragon. Syara was forced to abandon all its claims to Zemplen and all disputed territories inhabited primarily by Ruvelkans; in exchange Syara received lands that were controlled by Ruvelka but populated by ethnic Syarans. Although the terms of the treaty exchanged ethnic territories, it was largely seen to have favored Ruvelka as Syara lost 8,045 square kilometers of territory. Diplomatic relations between the two nations were eventually re-established in 2011.
Fought between two modernized and industrialized nations on par with one another in terms of technology and organization, the war shattered many pre-concienved notions about how a modern war between peer opponents would play out. Expectations of a rapid war of technological dominance were overshadowed quickly by the rapid depletion of smart munitions, advanced fighter aircraft, and modern armored fighting vehicles, and instead boiled down into a war of attrition marked by heavy casualties and slow moving offensives. Both Ruvelka and Syara conducted extensive information warfare efforts to sway international opinion to either side. In an agreement with Ossoria and Cacerta, both Ruvelka and Syara abstained from naval operations in the Sundering Sea so as to avoid interference with the major sea lanes that ran through the Divide. In the air, Ruvelka initiated a strategic bombing campaign to destroy Syaran military production facilities and manufacturing capability. Both sides conducted cyberattacks on one another. The war was extensively covered by international media outlets on television and the internet. Tensions remained high between Ruvelka and Syara in the years following the war, and only recently have both sides made efforts towards establishing a peaceful relationship.
Background
The territory of Zemplen had been contested between Ruvelka and Syara for much of modern history. The region holds special significance to Syaran national history and pride, being the location of the ancient battlefield of Nemaro, which is considered to mark the beginning and end of the Makedonian Empire. Though settled predominantly by ethnic Syarans for much of history, by the time of the Arkoennite Empire the population began trending towards a majority Karvelebi populace. Following the fall of the Arkoennite Empire the region came nominally under the influence of the Kingdom of Galania, but was lost to Ruvelkan control in the Ruvelkan-Galanian War. Control of Zemplen became a major point of contention between the two states. In 1873 the region as seized by the Makedonians during the Ruvelkan-Makedonian War, but in 1910 the Ruvelkan Socialist Republic had gained control of nearly 3/4ths of the region. Lingering resentment over Ruvelkan control led to Syaran invasion during the Ruvelkan Civil War, which allowed the Republic of Syara to seize Zemplen with limited resistance.
Despite Syaran efforts to encourage Ruvelkan emigration from Zemplen, a sizeable Ruvelkan population remained within the territory in the years leading up to the Siduri War. Zemplen was used as a staging point for the Syaran invasion, and remained under Syaran control after the end of the war, as the Common Axis felt that pre-war borders needed to be restored. Syaran control over Ruvelka remained a sore spot for Ruvelka, but in the post-war reconstruction there was little desire to force another conflict. In the 1980s both sides had undergone radical domestic changes, with Syara sliding into the Refusal War. Despite the ongoing civil war, the Ruvelkan government elected to avoid any attempt at recapturing Zemplen, fearing the possibility of getting dragged into the conflict. The Wardens rise to power in Syara prompted concern within Ruvelka, which was fearful of a nationalist, revolutionary Syara. Relations between the two powers managed to remain largely cordial despite comments made by public officials on both sides. Beginning in the 21st century however relations began to sour considerably. In 2003 Syara and Ruvelka clashed in the Imerti Conflict, a brief five day undeclared war in which Ruvelkan military forces attempted to seize control of strategic areas within the Imerti territory. Ruvelkan forces however were unable to force out Syaran garrison troops, and a ceasefire was brokered by Acrea.
The brief fighting over Imerti set the tone for Ruvelkan-Syaran relations over the next several years, with both sides viewing each other with suspicion and accusing the other of fostering and promoting instability. Both nations began extensive military buildups, increasing productions of weaponry and armaments while expanding the size of their armed forces. As part of the Imerti ceasefire, both Ruvelka and Syara had agreed to deploy peacekeepers to disputed territories to prevent the outbreak of nationalist inspired acts of violence. In Zemplen, both sides were authorized to deploy peacekeeping contingents of 2,000 personnel, though in practice nominal levels were roughly 1,200 on each side. Tensions remained high between 2003-2008, eventually coming to a head in the spring of 2008.
In January 2008 Telev Mining Consortium, the second largest employer in all of Zemplen, filed for bankruptcy and laid off its entire workforce within the region. Unemployment skyrocketed, and Zemplen's economy, long dependent on the mining industry, began to collapse. In Feburary after extensive lobbying the Syaran government agreed to implement a stimulus program aimed at revitalizing Zemplen's economic fortunes. However in the midst of a general economic downturn caused by a recession in Æsthurlavaj, Syara's largest trading partner, the Syaran government limited it's stimulus package to focus on urban areas populated predominantly by ethnic Syarans. While not officially excluding Ruvelkans, the prioritization of Syaran neighborhoods had clear effects on Zemplen. By March revitalization efforts had largely stabilized wages and unemployment numbers for Syaran towns, while Ruvelkans living in Zemplen struggled with rabid unemployment, food shortages, and rolling blackouts. On 11 March the Ruvelkan government announced its intentions to start aid deliveries to ethnic Ruvelkan enclaves in Zemplen, which Syara refused to allow out of fear that the Ruvelkan government would attempt to smuggle in weapons, as had happened in Imteri five years prior.
Riots soon broke out in ethnic Ruvelkan population centers, leading Syara to increase its peacekeeping force to the maximum limit of 2,000 troops. Debrecen condemned the act, pointing out that Syaran peacekeepers were being reinforced with main battle tanks and heavy artillery, and not further law enforcement or riot police. In response Ruvelka deployed additional peacekeepers, a move that Zovahr denounced as a "flagrant attempt at intimidation through escalation". Through April 2008 there were more than 50 reported clashes between peacekeeping forces and rioters, resulting in 27 deaths and hundreds of injuries, along with hundreds of arrests. On 13 April Ruvelkan peacekeepers operating near the border town of Siratz were shelled, resulting in the death of two Ruvelkan soldiers. Syara denied responsibility, blaming the attack on Ruvelkan nationalists within Zemplen.
On 25 April riots broke out in Sopron as over 15,000 ethnic Ruvelkans occupied the city center, demanding a withdrawal of Syaran peacekeepers and allowance of aid from the Principality. The protestors remained in Sopron until 14 May, when they were finally forced to disperse by Syaran riot and military police in clashes that killed 17 people and left more than 500 wounded. Ruvelka urged the Organization of Tyrannic Nations to officially condemn Syara, which the Commonality responded by accusing Ruvelka of inciting ethnic violence within Zemplen. Tensions finally came to a head on 20 May when Ruvelkan nationalists seized control of a radio station on the outskirts of Szellő and began broadcasting anti-Syaran messages. A Syaran peacekeeping force was dispatched to take control of the radio station and arrest the Ruvelkans, all of this just 2 kilometers from a Ruvelkan peacekeeping outpost. According to Syara, when Syaran peacekeepers approached the radio station they were fired upon by the inhabitants, forcing them to level the building. Ruvelka maintains that Syaran forces purposefully destroyed the building before attempting any kind of take over. A nearby Ruvelkan patrol, which was attempting to respond to a distress call issued by the radio station, arrived on the scene shortly thereafter. Both sides reacted negatively to the other's presence, and a firefight broke out between the two forces. Syara and Ruvelka to this day maintain the other side fired first, but by 16 May clashes between the two peacekeeping forces had broken out across Zemplen.
Although both sides made efforts to negotiate a ceasefire, neither was able to come to terms. Syara refused to remove it's peacekeepers until Ruvelka did so, and Ruvelka was unwilling to remove their protection of ethnic Ruvelkans in Zemplen. Both sides hastily mobilized nearby military forces and deployed them to Zemplen, resulting in a series of engagements that began on 23 May, which is generally considered to mark the beginning of the war.
Build up and deployed forces
Prior to the outbreak of hostilities between the two sides both Ruvelka and Syara had mobilized military forces and placed units near the border on high alert, but the rapid unfolding of the conflict meant that both sides were largely caught unprepared for the scale of the fighting. The months of June and July 2008 saw frequent but disorganizing engagements between Syara and Ruvelkan forces as military units were committed piecemeal, responding to tactical developments rather than any greater operational or strategic planning. By late July however the Syaran Commonality Armed Forces had been organized enough to launch a series of general offensives across the entirety of the border, resulting in heavy Ruvelkan losses.
Both sides would go on to mobilize large conscript armies and produce large amounts of military hardware and ammunition over the course of the war. Ruvelka enjoyed a numerical advantage during most of the war due to it's larger population and deeper reserve system, namely the Territorial Forces.
Course of the War
Border Battles
Although both the Imperial Armed Forces of Ruvelka and the Syaran Commonality Armed Forces had been placed on high alert and partially mobilized prior to the outbreak of hostilities, neither side was fully prepared for the scale of the fighting, which quickly escalated to beyond Zemplen. On 24 May two battalions of the Ruvelkan 18th Royal Mechanized Division were ordered to advance into Zemplen and secure strategic areas near ethnic Ruvelkan towns, while on the same day elements of the Syaran 23rd Mechanized Infantry Division were ordered to take up positions within Zemplen to repel expected Ruvelkan assaults. Fighting quickly erupted across the rest of the border in a series of confusing and ad hoc engagements between border forces.
On 25 May Syaran troops shelled Ruvelkan positions along the border in the Kunhegyes Distrct, resulting in a number of casualties both civilian and military. Further south on 27 May Ruvelkan fighters from Albertirsa bombed Syaran border outposts, killing or injuring twenty Syaran border guards. Such one sided engagements continued until roughly mid-June, when mobilized military forces began conducting organized operations. On 4 June the Syaran Central Command issued a full mobilization and call up of all reserves, which was followed by an official declaration of war issued by Zovahr later in the day. The Syaran declaration placed the blame fully on Ruvelka for "instigating ethnic violence and lawlessness within disputed regions". Debrecen responded with it's own declaration of hostilities just after midnight, resulting in both nations being in a state of war effective 5 June. The Ruvelkan Imperial General Staff ordered an immediate mobilization of all military forces including the Territorial Defense Forces.
While sporadic fighting and skirmishes continued to erupt all throughout June and July, the Organization of Tyrannic Nations attempted to negotiate a ceasefire between Ruvelka and Syara. Despite 12 sessions over a two week period in mid July no agreement was reached, with both sides blaming the other for a refusal to compromise. Once it became clear the conflict would not be halted in the short term, pressure from both Ossoria and Cacerta resulted in a rare joint Ruvelkan-Syaran agreement to refrain from any kind of naval operations within the Sundering Sea. A joint Ossorian-Cacertian task force would remain off the cost of the two nations for the duration of the conflict, and no major incidents occurred between the Ruvelkan and Syaran navies in the Divide.
By the end of July it was clear that neither side would be willing to stand down, and the OTN withdrew its efforts to negotiate a ceasefire. Over the course of the month, Ruvelkan Imperial Fusiliers and Imperial Army forces had infiltrated deep into Zemplen, Imerti, and Armavir, overrunning local garrison and internal security forces. On Friday, July 25th Zovahr announced its final ultimatum, which demanded the complete withdrawal of all Ruvelkan military forces from the border. The demand was expectedly rejected by Debrecen on 26 July with the declaration that Ruvelka would stand down its forces until Syara had done so itself.
Disagreements on how to proceed confounded both sides. On the Syaran side, Executive Zhelev was willing to conduct military action within the disputed regions but did not desire a larger war. Foreign Minister Županić wanted to appeal to Acrea to convince Ruvelka to back down, while Chief of Staff Vakhtang Avakian favored an immediate offensive. The rejection of the Syaran ultimatim on the 26th led Zhelev to call an emergency meeting late on the same day. Avakian and Defense Minister Vitanov continued to press for a rapid military strike against Ruvelkan forces in Zemplen, while Županić was disagreed. The rest of the cabinet was largely split between the "pro-war" and "pro-peace" side. After several hours of debate Zhelev authorized for a limited offensive into Zemplen and the border regions to remove Ruvelkan forces from them, followed by a unilateral ceasefire on the part of Syara to demonstrate the Commonality's willingess to avoid a larger war. Avakian proceeded to implement the already planned Operation Aspidoon, to be launched on 3 August.
In Debrecen debate over what course of action to take continued after the 25 July ultimatum was announced and rejected the next day. Chancellor Molnár had already made clear her intentions to fight for Zemplen, fearful that another withdrawal like what had happened in Imerti three years prior would embolden Syaran transgressions against Ruvelkan soil. Chief of the Imperial Staff Áron Surány was more cautious and favored withdrawing most of the Ruvelkan forces out of Zemplen and Imerti. Surány's arguments were pragmatic; despite a larger reserve system and in depth mobilization scheme, the balance of power along the border seemed to favor Syara. Ruvelka had amassed over half a million troops along the border, compared to 350,000 Syarans, but Ruvelka's reserves were still making ready; equipment was still being pulled out of storage depots and armories, while Ruvelkan intelligience indicated that the Syaran National Army had stood up 12 divisions at near full strength.
Surány's concern, which he explain to the Chancellor on 28 July, was three fold. First, although Syaran and Ruvelkan soldiers were largely equal in terms of skill-at-arms, Ruvelkan doctrine emphasized autonomous units operating largely on their own with little direction from strategic command, to ensure combat capability even after lines of communication were lost. The large armies being mobilized in western Ruvelka therefore would have limited experience working with one another, or conducting large scale maneuvers with one another, something the Syarans would on the contrary have plenty of experience with. Surány also was concerned that the Ruvelkan Territorial Defense Force was not prepared for high intensity operations, and would be better utilized augmenting still mobilizing divisions further east. Lastly, Surány feared that the loss of too many of Ruvelka's main line formations early on would hamper its ability to resist the Syarans early on.
Chancellor Molnár ultimately disagreed, stessing that ceding too much territory to Syara would simply encourage them to capture more. Given Ruvelka's history, Molnár argued that anything less than immediate resistance would cripple Ruvelkan morale. The next day Molnár informed her cabinet of her intention to contest Syaran forces wherever possible. Royal Princess Daniella Prohászka sent a letter the same day confirming that the royal family stood behind the Chancellor's decision. Both sides continued to mobilize and deploy forces on their respective sides of the border, while intermittent clashes continued across Zemplen and Imerti.
August offensives
The Syarans launched the August Offensive on 3 August, employing over 200,000 troops with over 2,000 tanks and nearly 3,000 artillery pieces. The Commonality Air Force began the offensive, code named Operation Aspidoon, in the early morning with airstrikes against the airfields of the Ruvelkan Imperial Air Force along western Ruvelka. Syaran mechanized infantry and tanks quickly followed suit by assaulting Ruvelkan forces that had infiltrated Zemplen, Imerti and Armavir. Heavy clashes broke out in and around the city of Sopron, which had been seized by nearly 6,000 Ruvelkan Fusiliers and Imperial Army troops in late July, driving out the Syaran garrison. On 7 August the Syarans had surrounded the city and began shelling the main Ruvelkan command post in the Sopron National Airport, resulting in heavy damage to the airport and adjacent infrastructure. The destruction caused by the Syarans and their artillery against a city that was legally within their jurisdiction is later credited with helping to turn international opinion against Syara.
By 12 August Ruvelkan Ruvelkan forces within the border regions had been routed from their positions. By the 15th it was clear that Ruvelka could not contest control of the border regions and the Imperial General Staff ordered a withdrawal. On 25 August Chancellor Edviná Molnár confirmed that Ruvelkan forces were pulling back from the disputed regions but denied that Ruvelka was willing to accept a ceasefire. Molnár later stated that Ruvelka would not accept an armistice until "the invaders have been driven from every ujj of our soil". By 26 August Syaran troops were in control of over 90% of the disputed regions. Executive Dragomir Zhelev announced a unilateral ceasefire on 28 August, but it was quickly broken when Ruvelkan and Syaran forces clashed near the town of Tira in the Zemplen.
The Ruvelkan refusal to accept terms surprised the Syaran government, who assumed that Ruvelka would sue for peace after being driven out of the disputed regions. Attempts to negotiate a ceasefire was outright refuted by Debrecen, who stated they would only negotiate once Syaran forces had pulled back to pre-war borders, a demand that was summarily refused by Syara. For the next few weeks there was comparatively little fighting save for sporadic skirmishes bewteen Syaran and Ruvelkan forces as the Syaran government tried to decide a new course of action. In general the Syaran government did not desire a protracted war, but did not believe that Ruvelka would simply accept Syaran control of the disputed regions. Beginning on 27 August Syaran intelligence also deduced that Ruvelka was massing forces for a counter offensive, aimed at 'liberation' the disputed regions from Syaran control. With that in mind Syaran Central Command devised a new strategy; the destruction of the Imperial Armed Forces of Ruvelka, under the assumption that with it's military destroyed Ruvelka would have no choice but to cede to Syaran demands. Syaran assumption that the SCAF would be able to defeat the IAFR was based on the success the Syarans had found during the August offensives, but Central Command failed to take into account that a war of attrition favored Ruvelka, with it's larger population and deeper reserves of manpower. Aware that Ruvelkan reserves were beginning to mass, the SCAF began preparing for an immediate resumption of the offensive.
Syaran invasion
On 14 September 2008 Syara launched a full scale invasion of western Ruvelka. The Syaran Air Force began the offensive in the early morning by striking at Ruvelkan airfields and defensive positions, hoping to sow chaos behind Ruvelkan lines and prevent the escape of Ruvelkan forces along the border. Syaran success was limited as the Ruvelkan Imperial Air Force counter attacked and downed several Syaran aircraft. Throughout the morning Syaran artillery continued to shell Ruvelkan outposts and bases across the border. In conjunction with airstrikes, the Syarans managed to disrupt the coordination and defensive efforts of the Ruvelkan Imperial Army. Not long after Syaran ground forces crossed the border in a multi-pronged offensive across the 600 kilometer border. The Syaran government publicly stated the intention of their invasion was ultimately to force Ruvelka into a ceasefire, but the action nevertheless drew condemnation by several countries.
The Syaran invasion force was divided into three Army Groups, Alpha in the north, Beta in the center, and Gamma in the south. Each Army Group was composed of three field armies, and three corps per field army. A total of 140 Syaran divisions, many of which had only been activated in the four weeks before the invasion, took part in the invasion, which was known to the Syarans as Operation Aspis. Opposite were six Ruvelkan Fronts, each composed of four or five field armies. A total of 171 Ruvelkan divisions had been activated, although nearly all were smaller than their Syaran counterparts. Although Syara framed its invasion in ultimately defensive terms, right up to the name (Aspis meaning 'shield'), the Syaran goal was to destroy as many Ruvelkan forces as possible and therefore focused on wide sweeping offensive operations designed to encircle and destroy Ruvelkan divisions in detail. Although on average heavier and better armed than their Ruvelkan counterparts, Syaran divisions had difficult maneuvering in the thick forests and valleys of western Ruvelka.
Better suited for a modern mechanized war due to their emphasis on heavy armor and firepower, the SCAF originally made good progress but after a few weeks the advance had become uneven. In northern Ruvelka the generally flatter terrain favored Syaran forces, allowing them to advance nearly 70 kilometers within 2 weeks in spite of fierce Ruvelkan resistance. In the more mountainous south however Ruvelkan forces proved harder to break, backed up by terrain and the presence of several fortress cities such as Albertirsa and Balatonalmadi. Although both cities were in Syaran hands by October, near fanactical defense of both areas severly slowed down the progress of Army Groups Beta and Gamma.
My late October fighting had begun winding down as both sides exhausted their pre-war stockpiles of munitions and supplies, and regular divisions had been depleted of much of their strength. Reservists and conscripts began forming most of the units at the front line. Both Ruvelka and Syara were not prepared for how quickly their armies consumed fuel and ammunition, forcing rapid and radical alterations to transform their peace time economies into ones better suited for war. Neither side was well prepared for a protracted war, and in late October Syara offered a ceasefire, but Chancellor Molnár refused.
In early November both sides had settled into a temporary stalemate with little offensive action, the only notable exception was the Syaran recapture of Sarud on the 8th. The supply situation for both sides was a major contributor. Fuel was especially concerning; both sides were consuming nearly a million gallons a day and neither Ruvelka nor Syara were major oil producers. Lack of fuel quickly became the primary concern for both armies. Ruvelka possessed a large strategic petroleum reserve of nearly 300 million barrels, but by October over a third of it had been used up. Although less mechanized than Syara and therefore less dependent on oil, Ruvelka's smaller economy had more difficulty acquiring more. A much needed trade agreement with Acrea alleviated Ruvelkan fuel concerns for the most part, and by the end of the year Ruvelka was the second largest importer of oil in Tyran, only behind Syara. Syara's larger economy allowed it to purchase fuel in greater quantities than Ruvelka, but the constant drain of its foreign currency reserves on acquiring petroleum would lead to a severe financial crisis later on. Syara would ultimately consumed nearly 10 billion gallons of fuel during the war, and Ruvelka over 8 billion. Total consumption by both sides would be 500 million barrels by the end of the war.
Winter Counter-Offensive
By late October Ruvelkan conscription had produced 300,000 additional troops ready for deployment, which convinced the Ruvelkan Imperial General Staff of the feasibility of a grand strategic offensive. Although they had been on the back foot for most of the war thus far, Debrecen believed that a properly planned counterattack could throw Syaran forces into disarray and pave the way for a recapturing of Ruvelkan territory in the west. Planning for the offensive began on 2 November and by the 7th a plan, known as Operation Szablya, had been put in place. Szablya envisioned two main thrusts concentrated against the Syaran 6th Army, which was holding the center of Army Group Beta, by the 1st Derecske and 1st Pálháza Front.
Ruvelka began its offensive on 13 November 2008 with a major armored thrust north of Sgerejo against the Syaran XII Corps. Only Colonel General Arisdages Koundakjian, Deputy Commander of Army Group Beta, had suspected the main blow would fall on the Syaran center, but his efforts to redeploy the Army Groups reserves were summarily rejected by it's commander, Field Marshall Aleksandar Čorić. Under attack by three Ruvelkan armored divisions the XII Corps began to collapse, threatening to unhinge the entire forward line of Army Group Beta. When the scope of the attack became clear Čorić attempted to redeploy his reserves to face the Ruvelkan push but his armored forces struggled to do so against repeated Ruvelkan attacks in other sectors. On 18 November, XII Corps commanding officer Lt. General Nedelko Shishkov bluntly informed 6th Army Headquarters that his Corps was no longer combat effective and was falling apart. The next day Čorić was sacked and replaced by Koundakjian, who redeployed the under strength XXVI Corps to block the path of advance of the Ruvelkan Fronts.
The sudden collapse of XII Corps had been an unexpected boon for Ruvelka, but their offensive was already beginning to founder. The rapid advance and lack of clear communication between field commanders and higher headquarters, a leftover from the highly autonomous doctrine the Ruvelkan military practiced, meant that by 25 November the Ruvelkan divisions of the 1st Derecske Front were out of position and unable to effectively support one another. On 29 November the 55th Royal Armored Division was badly mauled by the Syaran 67th Mechanized Infantry Division at the Battle of Tulzuni, and not long afterwards the Front was ordered to halt its attacks. Unable to make more progress in the center, the Imperial General Staff shifted its operational reserves north to press the attack on Army Group Alpha. On 4 December the 2nd Kunhegyes Front unleashed its own offensive against the Syaran 2nd and 3rd Army, but after six days of fighting the Ruvelkans had been halted at Highway K-5.
After 12 December the Imperial General Staff dispatched what strategic reserves were left to try to reverse the situation in the Aszód District, but by now the Syarans were aware of Ruvelkan intentions and were able to repulse the attacks with few losses. Sporadic fighting and local counter strokes continued for a few more days until the Imperial General Staff officially declared Operation Szablya over at 23 December. A Christmas ceasefire was agreed upon the day after that lasted until 26 December. It took several weeks for both sides to rebuild their stregnth following nearly 5 months of continuous fighting, as noted by Gwenllian Ní Áeda in her book Zemplen in Flames: The Syaran-Ruvelkan Conflict:
With the end of 2008 came a brief respite from the intense combat that had dominated Ruvelka's western Districts for six months, but it was just an inkling of what was to come. By January 2009 both sides had suffered in excess of a quarter-million casualties; that number would rise drastically in the next several months. With their pre-war forces largely depleted by constant operations and munitions stockpiles constantly in need of replenishment, both Zovahr and Debrecen filled their ranks with freshly raised troops and reservists. These soldiers, overwhelmingly young men and women between the ages of 18-25, could scarcely call themselves adults but they were suddenly thrust into what would become the most destructive conflict of the 21st Century. Their rushed training, combined with the hastily manufactured weapons they carried, would lead to hundreds of thousands of deaths over the next two years.
The strategic situation at the end of 2008 mostly favored Syara. The SCAF had made impressive gains in some sectors, surrounding Kaposvar and Kunhegyes in the north, and having captured Balatonalmadi, Dunakesi, Pannonhalma, and Albertirsa in the south. Fighting subsided for the winter of 2008-2009 as both sides rebuilt their shattered forces and geared their economies towards war production.
Operation Synaspismos
Syaran Central Command desired to return to the offensive in southern Ruvelka by seizing Aszód, Ruvelka's largest southern city as well as a major industrial hub. The Syarans hoped that capturing Aszód would pave the way for a general offensive east into the Matra Mountain range where Army Group Gamma could envelop and annihilate the Fifth and Ninth Imperial Armies, leading the collapse of the Second Army Group. Syara launched Operation Synaspismos on 18 February 2009, employing the bulk of the 10th Army, namely XXXVI and XXXV Corps. Entrenched behind strong defenses the Ruvelkans succesfully resisted the Syaran attack for several days, but after a week of fighting Syaran artillery had steadily reduced Ruvelkan defenses through continuous shelling. Equipped largely with mountain howitzers of 75mm and 105mm, Ruvelkan batteries could not match their Syaran counterparts in range and firepower. On 25 February Syaran forces broke through Ruvelkan lines 40 kilometers north-east of Aszód, which allowed the 90th Mechanized Infantry Division to rapidly push through and seize the vital road junction at Akhtenis. The Ninth Army and Aszód were effectively cut off from the rest of Ruvelka.
XXXV Corps proceeded to initiate a loose encirclement of Aszód, assuming that the city would surrender not long after the Ninth Army realized it was surrounded. North and east of the city XXXVI Corps continued to overrun Ruvelkan defenses in the foothills of the Matra Mountains, reducing Ruvelkan positions with heavy artillery fire. Very quickly the Ruvelkan Fifth Army counter-attacked across a 70 kilometer front on 2 March, trying to turn the northern flank of the XXXV Corps. The hastily thrown together offensive failed almost immediately, with Ruvelkan tactical leaders unsure of their objectives and unaware of the exact locations of Syaran forces. An attempted air assault by Imperial Fusiliers had to be called off after losing six attack helicopters to Syaran air defense systems, which had been retooled and reoriented after the lessons learned at the Battle of Sarud. Further disaster befell the Ruvelkans when the 48th Armored Division was caught in the open by the Syaran 102nd Armored Cavalry Division at Annohk Valley, where Ruvelkan KH2 tanks were unable to reliably penetrate the armor of Syaran Myrmidons resulting in a one-sided slaughter. The complete failure of the offensive, which Chancellor Edviná Molnár later said "felt like one of the darkest days of the war" resulted in the immediate sacking of Fifth Army's commanding officer and a suspension of offensive actions in the Aszód District.
The first major campaign of 2009 had ended in disaster for Ruvelka. Ruvelkan losses were exceptionally high, nearly 38,000 troops killed, wounded, or captured, along with 228 armored fighting vehicles destroyed and 18 aircraft lost. Syara casualties were just 8,000. Despite their immediate success however things did not turn out entirely in Syaran favor. It was expected by Central Command that the encirlement of Aszód, combined with the defeat of the Fifth Imperial Army would force the Ninth Army to surrender. But both the city and the Ruvelkan garrison refused to do so. On 5 March XXXV Corps attempted to push into the outer districts of Aszód, only to be repulsed within eight hours. The Ruvelkan garrison continued to refuse Syaran demands for surrender, locking both sides into a protracted siege that would last until the final months of the war.
Battle of Sagerejo
Despite their failure to force Aszód's capitulation, Central Command was encouraged by Syaran success in southern Ruvelka and deemed further offensives feasible. In March 2009 the SCAF was holding a frontage largely in line with major Ruvelkan population centers, namely Kaposvar and Kunhegyes in the north, and Sagerejo in the center. Up until now the main goal of Syaran operations had been the destruction of the Imperial Armed Forces of Ruvelka, but in light of the seemingly massive pool of manpower Ruvelka was capable of summoning, Central Command deduced that victory could instead be achieved by capturing and threatening major Ruvelkan urban areas, many of which held major arms manufacturing centers and military production facilities.
Seizing Sagerejo would give Syara the most direct route to the Ruvelkan capital of Debrecen, as well as the industrial heartland of the Grand Principality. Controlling Kaposvar and Kunhegyes on the other hand would offer an anchor point from which the rest of northern Ruvelka could be seized, and the Karilla Mountains could be circumvented as they flattened out somewhat as they drew closer to the Sundering Sea. Ultimately Central Command deduced that Sagerejo offered the quicker solution, and Army Group Alpha was ordered to hold its positions outside Kaposvar and Kunhegyes, while Army Group Beta assaulted Sagerejo.
Ruvelkan intelligence became aware of Syaran intentions not long after Army Group Gamma began, but suggestions of a spoiling attack were discounted following the failures of the Ninth Army's disaster. The Imperial General Staff instead ordered that the First Central Front, consisting of the Second, Third, and Eighth Armies, dig in and prepare an elaborate defense in depth around and within Sagerejo, hoping to bleed the Syaran offensive of manpower and material. Ruvelkan combat engineers created numerous defensive belts consisting of minefields, anti-tank traps, concealed pillboxes and hidden surface-to-air missile systems. Ruvelkan engineers also opened several local dams to flood certain areas and render them impassible for Syaran armor. Sections of forests were cleared of trees just enough to allow attack helicopters to fly through them, effectively beneath tree-top level. Future Chancellor of Ruvelka Elsa Szekeres, who fought at the battle, would later comment she "never seen so much barbed wire and sandbags in [her] life".
The Army Group Beta launched its assault on 20 March 2009 and almost immediately the depth of Ruvelkan defenses proved troubling. Within a week more than a hundred Syaran tanks had been destroyed and casualties had exceeded 5,000. It once again fell to Syaran artillery to pummel Ruvelkan defenses into position, but this proved to be a time consuming and logistically intensive affair. Although Ruvelkan defenses remained largely static, Imperial Fusiliers carried out numerous small scale counterstrokes and raids meant to silence Syaran artillery and keep the SCAF off balance, giving time for Ruvelkan forces to withdraw to further defensive positions. After three weeks of fighting Syaran forces had advanced just six miles while suffering heavy losses. Once they reached the outskirts of Sagerejo on 15 April the fighting grew even more costly as intense urban combat became the norm. Syara forces were forced to once again lean on their artillery to flatten entire city blocks and to suppress the Ruvelkan defenders inside the city.
On 19 April IX Corps finally broke through Ruvelkan defenses south of Sagerejo. Despite repeated counterattacks, the Ruvelkan Eigthth Army was forced to withdraw further east, paving the way for IX Corps to roll up from the south and outflank the Second and Third Armies. Rather than risk so many troops in a potential encirclement, the Imperial General Staff gave the order for the First Army Group to retreat, ceding Sagerejo to Syaran control. Syaran forces exercised complete control over the city by 24 April. Syara's victory had come at a tremendous cost; more than 34,000 Syaran soldiers had been killed, compared to 28,000 Ruvelkans. The Battle of Sagerejo would become the bloodiest battle of the war, and the high costs the Syarans had suffered, in addition to reports indicating the Ruvelkans had reinforced their lines among the Karilla Mountains and the passes leading to Debrecen, convinced Central Command to abandon any idea of directly seizing the capital.
Syaran Northern Offensives
In light of the heavy losses suffered taking Sagerejo, Central Command decided to reorient itself away from central Ruvelka. Operation Harpe was developed to facilitate the capture of Kaposvar and Kunhegyes, which thus far had checked the advance of Army Group Alpha. Eager to avoid the heavy urban combat that had defined Army Group Beta's assault in the center, Harpe envisioned a major thrust in between the two cities, at which point operational reserves would peel off and move north and south to cut off and surround each city. Harpe would lay the foundation for an eventual drive on Mateszalka, Ruvelka's largest northern port who's capture would effectively seal off Ruvelka's supply of oil from Acrea. Mateszalka would also act as a staging ground for further offensives south towards Marcali, which would circumvent the Karilla Mountains and pave the way for a Syaran drive into the industrial heartland of Ruvelka.
Operation Harpe began on 16 May with assaults by the Syaran 2nd, 3rd, and 7th Armies against the Kaposvar and Kunhegyes Highway between the two cities. The defending Ruvelkan 1st Northern Front, consisting of four field armies (4th, 10th, 11th, and 14th) were strung out across a defensive line anchored around the twin cities. The emphasis on defending Kaposvar and Kunhegyes had left the defenses between the two cities somewhat understrenght, as the Imperial High Command had focused its attention on defending the built up urban areas after witnessing the results of the Battle of Sagerejo. After two weeks of heaving fighting among the Kapsovar-Kunhegyes Highway Syaran forces had breached the main Ruvelkan defensive lines and had captured Harkány on 1 June. Fearing a further breakthrough of Syaran armored forces deeper into Ruvelka, where the Karilla Mountains could no longer offer as much of a natural barrier, the Imperial General Staff ordered a counterattack against the flanks of Army Group Alpha's breakthrough, which occurred between 3-15 June. Counter-attacks by the 11th and 14th Armies drew away Syaran reserves from continuing their drive eastward.
With the eastward drive of Harpe failed, Syaran Central Command ordered Army Group Alpha to turn around and focus its efforts on surrounding Ruvelkan forces in Kaposvar and Kunhegyes. On 3 July Syaran forces, consisting of 175,000 troops, 2,000 armored vehicles and more than 1,600 artillery pieces swung north and defeated the Ruvelkan 4th and 10th Armies outside Kaposvar, forcing the bulk of the 4th Army back inside the city while the 10th Army was pushed back against the coastline and further east. In the south some 200,000 Syaran troops from the 3rd and 7th Army engaged and defeated the remainder of the 1st Northern Front, surrounding Kunhegyes. Ruvelkan forces attempted to defend both cities but were outmaneuvered by Syaran mechanized forces. Despite the enriclement or capture of nearly 100,000 Ruvelkan troops, Syaran losses had been high; Operation Harpe ultimately claimed more than 31,000 Syarans killed and nearly 76,000 wounded. Ruvelkan reserves of the rapidly formed 2nd Northern Front effectively sealed off any further Syaran drive eastward in the north, ending Harpe in operational failure for Syara.
Ruvelkan Autumn Offensive
Having suffered a number of blows over the course of 2009, the Imperial General Staff spent much of the summer gathering forces and mobilizing additional reserves in preparation for another major strategic offensive. By late September Ruvelka had amassed a strategic reserve of some 250,000 troops. By now the Ruvelkan Imperial Army was fielding some 3.5 million troops, and the logistical burden was straining Ruvelkan resources. Not helping matters was the continued rivalry between the Imperial Fusiliers and the Army, whom often accused the Fusiliers of hoarding valuable resources, including air support and attack helicopters. In order to balance out the desires of both sides the Imperial Army was given priority for air support from the Imperial Air Force while the bulk of Ruvelka's helicopter fleet was diverted to supporting the Fusiliers. For the offensive, which came to be known as Operation Southern Spear, the Ruvelkans aimed to split the boundary between Army Group's Beta and Gamma in the south by recapturing Dunakesi and cutting off Army Group Gamma from the rest of the Syaran forces.
Ruvelka amassed some 500,000 troops, 2,000 tanks, and more than 1,700 artillery pieces for the offensive against 360,000 Syaran troops who were dug in along an uneven defensive line running from the foothills of the Karilla down south into the Matra Mountains. In the early morning of 25 September 2009 Ruvelkan Fusiliers infiltrated behind Syaran lines and seized control of vital road junctions and rail depots to prevent the lateral redeployment of Syaran forcs from other sectors of the front. In order to further distract Central Command, the Imperial Air Force utilized it's fleet of AFSB-2 Spettro strategic bombers to strike at targets within Syara itself, hoping to throw the Syarans into confusion. Over the course of the following week Ruvelkan forces attacked the positions of Army Group Gamma, succesfully breaking Syaran lines in several sectors of the front and forcing the withdrawl of the Syaran XXI and XXVII Corps from their positions. By 7 October Ruvelkan forces were just 50 kilometers from Dunakesi.
However over the course of the next few days the situation turned sour for Ruvelka. The diversionary attack against Army Group Beta, aimed at pinning down Syaran reserves, had failed and by 5 October the Syarans were rapidly redeploying 5 heavy mechanized divisions from their reserves to block the advance of the Ruvelkan forces. Despite fierce resistance the Fusilier detachments inserted behind Syaran lines were unable to hold their position in the face of whithering Syaran artillery fire and repeated sorties by the Commonality Air Force. On 10 October Syaran forces counterattacked in the Dunakesi sector and repulsed Ruvelkan forces. Despite repeated strikes by the Imperial Air Force the Syarans were able to drive the Ruvelkans back to near their starting positions. On 16 October Southern Spear was declared over by the Imperial General Staff. Both sides had suffered heavy losses; more than 29,000 Ruvelkans had been killed, and more than 26,000 Syaran troops had perished. Although a failure, Southern Spear made it clear to the Imperial General Staff the inability of Ruvelkan forces to isolate partial sectors of the front; for future offensives, the Imperial General Staff concluded that only an assault across the entirety of the front would suffice.
Winter Stalemate
As 2009 drew to a close, both Syara and Ruvelka suspended large scale operations and attempted to reconstitue their shattered forces. Losses on both sides had been massive. Over the course of 2009, Ruvelka had suffered some 490,000 personnel killed and more than 1,000,000 wounded. Material losses were equally large; 2,336 tanks destroyed, 1,788 artillery pieces in addition to 224 aircraft. Syaran losses were also; 338,000 killed, close to 900,00 wounded, in addition to 3,031 tanks destroyed, 1,644 artillery pieces lost, and 416 aircraft destroyed or damaged beyond repair. Much of eastern Ruvelka had been devestated by the fighting, resulting in the internal displacement of some 35 million civilians. Apart from the capitulation fo Kaposvar and Kunhegyes the Syarans enjoyed little success, with even the capture of both cities muted due to the establishment of strong defensive lines across northern Ruvelka, which effectively stonewalled Army Group Alpha.
Despite such losses the end did not appear obvious to most involved. To most outside obseverors the strategic situation seemed to favor Syara; the fighting was still entirely on Ruvelkan soil, and the failure of Operation Southern Spear seemed to demonstrate the inability for the Ruvelkans to defeat the Syaran Commonality Armed Forces in battle. Behind the scenes however the situation for the Commonality was more grim. Failure to prepare for an extended conflict had depleted Syaran reserves of foreign currency, fuel, and manpower. With the prospect of expanding Syara's limited conscription standards deeply unpopular, and the cost of the war increasingly being burdered by the Syaran taxpayer, Zovahr was increasingly looking for an end to the conflict, hoping that their position within Ruvelka would force Debrecen to accept a ceasefire. But the continued Ruvelkan strategic bombing campaign, although not devestating to Syaran industry or urban centers, soured Syaran hopes for a peaceful settlement. The increasingly grim situation was not alleviated by Central Command, who in January admitted that Ruvelkan manpower reserves had not yet been exhausted and it was likely Ruvelka would be able to continue the war for the duration of 2010. While Zovahr debated furture plans, the Imperial General Staff began outlining what they hoped would be the final major operation of the war.
Final Offensives
Between March and May 2010 the SCAF launched a number of small scale offensives throughout the front line, hoping to avoid a protracted campaign of attrition which increasingly seemed to favor Ruvelka. Between 7-23 March Syara launched Operation Prodromoi against Kerepes near the intersection of the Karilla and Matra Mountains. Hoping to avoid high casualties the Syaran attack consisted of closely cooperating mechanized infantry and tanks slowly dispatching Ruvelkan hardpoints and troop concentrations. While the Syarans avoided heavy losses they failed to inflict many either, and their losses were minor. In April Army Group Alpha continuted to probe and attempt to break Ruvelkan defenses in the north, but after weeks of inconclusive fighting that failed to dislodge any significant number of Ruvelkan troops, the fighting died down again. In May the Syarans attempted a larger scale offensive against Polgardi, but in the mountains and valleys of the Karilla Range the Syarans found limited success, and unwilling to press harder out of fear of higher losses the attack was soon abandoned.
To most outside obsevers it seemed apparent the war was doomed to settle into a stalemate with both sides unwilling to commit to further costly offensives. In reality, behind the safety of the Karilla Mountains the Imperial General Staff continued to mobilize and prepare an extensive reserve army of nearly 400,000 troops. Aware of the inferiority of their forces at the operational leve, the Ruvelkans aimed to finally defeat the Syarans in a massive offensive across the entire breadth of the front in a series of blows that would dilute Syara's reserves and prevent local counterstrokes from stalling the Ruvelkan advance. Between January and May the Ruvelkans amassed a total of 4,117,000 troops, 4,320 tanks, 4,000 artillery pieces, 758 attack helicopters, and 829 aircraft to take part in the offensive. Officially known as Operation Homefront, the attack would commence all at once, across the entire 1,029 kilometer front. Syaran forces by May 2010 consisted of 3,567,000 troops, 5,850 tanks, 5,430 artillery pieces, 410 attack helicopters, and 580 aircraft across the entire front.
Operation Homefront commenced on 7 June with multiple Fusilier infiltrations across the entire front, followed shortly by the Imperial Air Force conducting massive coordinated airstrikes against Syaran troop concentrations, fortificaitons, fuel depots, and forward airfields. Within hours 58 Ruvelkan divisions were on the attack, striking every sector of the frontline. The scale of the attack became apparent to the Syarans within a few hours, although their intelligence had failed to detect the buildup until two weeks prior to the attack thanks to elaborate Ruvelkan deception operations. As predicted by the Imperial General Staff, the massive scale of the offensive prevented the Syarans from reinforcing their positions, as they lacked the reserves to cover every threatened sector. After a week of ferocious fighting and heavy losses Central Command abruptly gave the order for all Syaran forces in Ruvelka on 15 June. Despite desparate rear guard actions and blocking maneuvers the Syarans struggled to halt the Ruvelkan advance, and by 20 June the Syaran forces were in full retreat back to the border. On 18 June the siege Aszód was finally lifted. On 23 June Ruvelkan forced re-entered Zemplen, which was cleared of Syaran forces by 6 July. For the first two weeks of July Ruvelkan forces rapidly re-occupied the disputed territories, finally able to defeat the SCAF in detail due to the Syaran National Army being forced to abandon much of its heavy equipment in Ruvelka.
Although it had exahausted Ruvelkan troops and depleted reserves of fuel and ammunition, Operation Homefront was ultimtaley a decisive Ruvelkan victory. Syaran forces had suffered 150,000 men killed, wounded, or captured, losses which the Commonality could no longer afford. On paper still a sizeable force, the SCAF had been fully defeated, and it's badly mauled forces struggled to reform themselves now inside Syara itself.
Ceasefire and Resolution
On 12 July Chancellor Edviná Molnár announced the cessation of Ruvelkan combat operations and declared that Ruvelka was ready to negotiate an end to the conflict with Syara. The next Zovahr signaled it's willingness to come to the table. Later that day both sides agreed to a summit held by Imperator Tyler Holland of Shalum. The summit was held on 16 July in Aragon, where both sides sat down to discuss the resolution to the conflict. It was attened by Chancellor Molnár and Executive Zhelev. The Ruvelkan proposal was as follows:
- Complete cessation of hostilities and signing of an official peace treaty
- All military forces stand down and be returned to their normal garrison stations
- Syaran withdraws all claims to control of Zemplen, Imerti, and Armavir
- Ruvelka will transition control of Tarnova and Rostuša to Syaran control
- Full exchange of prisoners of war
- Re-establishment of full diplomatic relations within an appropriate time frame
Syara was ultimately in no position to contest Ruvelkan demands and agreed to terms on the 17 of July, slated to officially go into effect on 19 July. The war was officially over at 0001 19 July 2009.
Aftermath
The Zemplen War had far reaching ramifications that continue to be felt to this day. Both states were profoundly affected by the conflict and it's aftermath, politically, economically, socially, and culturally.
Casualties and losses
The economic impact of the war has never been calculated to an absolute degree of certainty. International assessments of the conflict estimate that total expenditures by both Ruvelka and Syara exceeded $2.2 trillion. The reconstruction of eastern Ruvelka is estimated by the Ruvelkan government to cost somewhere around an additional $1.5 trillion.
According to compiled assessments, a total of 1,691,670 people died in the Zemplen War, 436,208 of them civilians, the vast majority of which were Ruvelkan. An additional 42,338 are considered missing and presumed dead, while 4,261,258 military personnel were classified as wounded.
Syaran losses were officially declared in February 2011 in a special session of the High Council during which the Syaran Commonality Armed Forces laid out their recorded losses. These losses totaled:
- 411,216 military personnel killed in action
- 106,802 military personnel died of wounds (outside of combat; under medical care)
- 7,653 non-combat related deaths (accidents, non-combat related health issues)
- 1,975,348 military personnel wounded (combat + non-combat related injuries, as defined by requiring medical assistance)
- 167,325 military personnel captured
- 14,452 military personnel missing, presumed KIA
Syaran material losses amounted to:
- 3,429 main battle tanks destroyed
- 2,795 infantry fighting vehicles destroyed
- 5,211 armored personnel carriers destroyed
- 2,640 artillery pieces destroyed
- 26,791 utility vehicles destroyed
- 166 helicopters destroyed
- 301 unmanned aerial vehicles destroyed
- 525 aircraft destroyed (all types)
Analysis
After the war, the Acrean Defense think tank Ruental and the Acrean Royal Institute for Defense and Security at Varberg published reports analyzing the performance of the SCAF and IRAF during the war.
Ruvelka
According to General Friedrich Eklund, Ruvelkan victory in the Zemplen War was largely a result of it's superior strategic planning and preparation for conflict. While Ruvelka did not envision a Syaran invasion, it's much deeper system of reserves, along with it's Territorial Defense Forces, and superior preparation of the civilian economy, allowed Ruvelka to sustain the war effort beyond what Syara was capable of. Ruvelkan grand strategy was fundamentally more sound than Syara's, emphasizing Ruvelka's advantages in numbers and long term planning. Ruvelkan usage of it's air power was tactically and strategically well executed, and Ruvelkan forces demonstrated strong tactical flexibility over their Syaran counterparts.
However Ruvelka suffered from a number of doctrinal and operational shortfalls. Ruvelkan doctrine emphasized highly autnonomous units carrying out their own operations, aimed at undermining the occupation of Ruvelka by a foreign power, and exploiting Ruvelka's natural terrain as defensive measures against invaders. This emphasis on unit autonomy had the negative consequence of leaving Ruvelkan forces poorly prepared to plan and carry out complex combined arms operations, a field in which they were routinely outclassed by their Syaran counterparts. The Ruvelkan winter-counteroffensive was a principal example of that, when Ruvelkan commanders developed the routinely bad habits of exploiting tactical gains instead of pursuing operational objectives. Ruvelkan operational art could be described as "undeveloped".
Ruvelkan forces routinely struggled to meet Syaran forces in the open field due to deficiencies in firepower and heavy armor. Ruvelkan armor was heavily centered around light tanks, which performed poorly when matched up against their Syaran counterparts. Early battles between armored formations routinely resulted in lopsided losses for Ruvelka, who's lighter tanks lacked the firepower, range, and armor to compete with Syaran main battle tanks. The Ruvelkan counter to this was to emphasize ambushes and asymmetric tactics to offset Syaran armor, but these were never universally effective. Ruvelkan efforts to counter Syaran armor ultimately ended up relying heavily on artillery barrages, which proved more reliable.
Ruvelka's decision to engage in a strategic bombing campaign was a controversial one. Ultimately the damage done to Syaran industry and logistics was negligible. For more damaging was that it forced Syara to divert aircraft from the front lines to protecting Syaran airspace. Ruvelkan willingness to bomb Syara was also impacted by Ruvelka's information war, which wanted to emphasize the defensive nature of the conflict for Ruvelka, and thus limited what the Ruvelkan Imperial Air Force was able to target.
Syara
Syara suffered from two major flaws; lack of a cohesive strategy and sufficient air power. Syara embarked on a war with originally limited gains, but then expanded the conflict into a major war without making proper strategic decisions. The goal of destroying the Ruvelkan military was based on an overestimation of Syaran military capability, and it failed to factor in Ruvelka's larger population and deeper reserves of manpower. Syaran leadership allowed itself to be distracted by operational victories and territorial acquisitions, which largely blinded them to growing strategic imbalances in manpower and frontage. Syara in general suffered from a lack of strong leadership at the highest level, with neither the civilian government nor the Central Command able to effectively communicate with each other when discussing strategic aims. A lack of strategic preparation for the war, namely the zero levels of preparation for the civilian economy meant that Syara was facing financial disaster towards the end of the war, and likely would've had extreme difficulties financing the war effort had the Ruvelkan summer offensive not occurred.
Syaran air power was at a significant disadvantage throughout the war. Syara started the war with almost 300 less fighter aircraft than Ruvelka, and a significant chunk of the rest of the Syaran air force was composed of tactical bombers and fixed wing gunships. Many of these aircraft, similar to the Cacertian Tartaruga, were slow and highly vulnerable to Ruvelkan MANPADS and SHORAD, and constituted the majority of Syaran aircraft shot down during the war. Syara possessed no strategic bombers or ballistic missiles, rendering it largely incapable of directly targeting Ruvelkan industry beyond the Kurilla Mountains.
Syaran doctrine was a hit or miss issue throughout the war. Superior operational planning, centralized communication systems, and a more structured chain of command meant that Syaran operations were largely more successful than Ruvelkan. Syaran emphasis on firepower at all levels meant that Ruvelkan forces were routinely outgunned, and artillery exchanges almost always favored Syara. However Syara's emphasis on mechanized maneuver warfare was out of place in Ruvelka's rugged terrain, where Syaran armor and mechanized infantry were routinely unable to prevent lighter Ruvelkan forces from slipping away or escaping encirclement.
Impact
In Syara, the shock of the defeat after months of what seemed like military success profoundly shook the core of Syara's Warden ideology. The administration of Dragomir Zhelev collapsed shortly after Syara's defeat, with the former Executive receiving much of the blame for Syara's woes. The Syaran economy struggled in the immediate post war aftermath, though by the end of 2009 had largely recovered in terms of trade volume. Syaran society was deeply impacted by the war, doing much to shake faith in Syaran's Warden dominated government and called into question many of the nationalist and revolutionary aspects of the Warden Way.
Syaran culture was affected in many ways. In the immediate aftermath of the war dozens of memoirs and stories were published in Syaran literature, combined with a spike in war-related films, songs, and poetry.
The Ruvelkan victory in the Zemplen War helped to establish the Grand Principality as a capable military power under proper leadership, contrasting heavily with the Ruvelkan performance during the Imerti Conflict. Chancellor Molnár’s Cooperative Commonwealth Party (and by extension the greater political alliance of which it was a part, the Progressive Alliance) dominated the nation’s federal elections in 2010. The war validated the Ministry of Defenses long-term strategy of defense-in-depth and restored the populace’s confidence in its military commanders.
Foreign Involvement
After Syara's successful drive into Ruvelka which led to nearly a third of the nation being occupied by the invading force, Ruvelkan Command was quick in their attempts to find assistance from nations with whom the Principality maintained close relations; this included neighboring Mansuriyyah and Acrea. Although Mansuriyyah was not directly involved in the conflict, they did provide political and materiel aid to Ruvelka alongside strategic aid by allowing Imperial Fusiliers to launch helicopter-borne infiltrators and reconnaissance teams behind Syaran lines.
Acrea
Acrea had long been a supplier of arms and material to Ruvelka in the aftermath of the Eracuran War and became an important trading partner for the Principality in the modern era. Acrean-built EF 135 fighters were used extensively to combat Syara's air force with soldiers, tanks, and aircraft of the Acrean Armed Forces later being deployed in the conflict. In late 2008, at the request of Ruvelkan defence officials, the Acrean Army implemented Operation Hlín, deploying the entirety of the 13th Armoured Regiment (13. Panzerregiment) under Colonel Erich von Rohr alongside other elements of the 8th Armoured Division under Generalmajor Thure Rasmussen to Ruvelka alongside an additional 4,000 personnel. Ruvelka also began purchasing large numbers of surplus Acrean Strv 124s and Strv 104s to bolster their depleted tank force.
The first combat operations for Acrean troops in the war began on 20 March, 2009 with self-propelled guns providing extensive artillery fires for Ruvelkan forces in the Battle of Sagerejo.
Reactions
The Common Sphere diplomatically supported Ruvelka, which was an associate member.