Invasion of Gogsan (1940)

Invasion of Gogsan (1940)
Clockwise from the top left: IDA troops of the 16th Infantry Division enter Gimhwa, Gogsanese tankette crew mounting their vehicle, Gogsanese reserve troops moving to the front, IDAAS G6H dirve bombers above eastern Gogsan
Date 12 June 1981 - 2 September Location Gogsan, East Daekan Sea Result Daekanese victory Gogsan fully annexed by Daekan Gwul is captured, later commits suicide
Belligerents
Daekan Supported by:	Gogsan Supported by: Esgonia
Commanders and leaders
Hae Taejong (Emepror, Commander-in-Chief) Ryang Jung-Min (Prime Minister) Yon Tae-Hyun (Minister of Defence)	Si Gwul (King, Commander-in-Chief) Kong Min-Ki (Prime Minister) Sol Kyung-Sam (Minister of Defence)
Strength
~1,600,000	~1,100,000 (peak)
Casualties and losses
105,519 total	551,214 total

The Invasion of Gogsan, also known as the Fourth Reclamation Campaign in Daekan, was a military invasion of the Kingdom of Gogsan by the Empire of Daekan which started on June 12 of 1940, and concluded on September 2nd of the same year with the capitulation of Gogsan.

When Gogsan declared its independence from Daekan after the 1895 Revolution which overthrew the Daekanese Emperor and installed a Republican government, the newlly born Republic of Daekan did not forsake its claim on its former territory. Skirmishes on the Daekanese-Gogsanese border began as soon as 1903, and naval encounters were also common. The 1912 incursions by the Daekanese National Army ended in defeat in the hands of the Dogsanese stratocrat Kam Young-Il. After the 1922 Daekanese coup d'etat which reinstated the monarchy, the newly-crowned Emperor, Hae Taejong, promised that Gogsan would be reclaimed. Indeed, several incursions by the Imperial Army were made into Gogsan in 1927, ending in success and small swathes of land being put under Daekanese control. Gogsan itself was suffering from internal power struggles between King Si Gwul and General Kam, which resulted in the latter being imprisoned and the military purged of his supporters. The dissaray within Gogsan and the weaking of its Army's officer corps were recognised as a massive opportunity by Daekan, and after Kam's death in 1938, plans were put forward for an invasion.

After a one year delay to ensure sufficient preparation, the Daekanese enacted a false flag operation in what came to be known as the Nohwa railway incident on June 7, which then escalated into a full-scale invasion on the 12th. The invasion started with large scale air attacks on the capital city of Gimhwa and facilities of the Royal Gogsanese Air Force by the Imperial Daekanese Air Force. The air campaign was followed by an ground invasion of five IDA Army Groups. The defending Royal Gogsanese Army, while being aware of a potential attack, was caught in the middle of preparations and was overwhelmed by the massive air attacks. By August, the IDA had captured most of Gogsan's southern population centres and destroyed several RGA field armies, and was in the process of surrounding Gimhwa by the 25th.

Historians mostly agree that the RGA's purged officer corps, that was made up of mostly inexperienced commanders, the lack of training for the lack and file, as well as the poor and outdated state of its equipment, were contributing factors to the rapid collapse of the Gogsanese military. King Si Gwul requested a ceasefire on the 30th of August, which was accepted, thought not entirely observed. On September 1st, he and his government signed the uncoditional surrender of the Gogsanese Armed Forces, which came into effect on the 2nd. Gogsan was occupied and Gwul placed under arrest. The country was later intergrated fully into the Daekanese Empire.

Background

In antiquity, Gogsan was one of the several kingdoms of Daekan and became part of the unified First Kingdom of Daekan when it was first formed. However, after the Second Invasion by the Esgonian Khanate and the First Kingdom's fall, Gogsan established itself as a strongly independent minor kingdom. Gogsan suffered several wars and conquests by the four major Daekanese Kingdoms during the Four Kingdoms period, and managed to defend itself from two invasions by the Second Kingdom of Daekan. In 1441 it was reconquered by the then newlly-established First Empire of Daekan, only to regain its independence in 1585. In 1789, it was reclaimed by the Empire in the War of the Two Tigers.

The 1895 Daekanese coup d'etat by anti-monarchy forces threw Daekan into chaos.