Fort Sirok
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| Fort Sirok | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Dorman Line | |
| Albertirsa, Ruvelka | |
 Fort Sirok prior to the invasion of Ruvelka. | |
| Site information | |
| Condition | Intact |
| Site history | |
| Fate | Decommissioned; converted into a museum. |
| Battles/wars | Invasion of Ruvelka |
Fort Sirok was a polygonal fort that formed part of the network of border fortresses known as the Dorman Line. Located near present-day Albertirsa, Fort Sirok was the last fort to fall during the Invasion of Ruvelka that began the Siduri War. Sirok was constructed between 1921 to 1924 and was designed to house a garrison of approximately 300. In 1931, the fort was modernized with reinforced concrete protection.
The Army of the Syaran Republic began a three-day long bombardment of the fort at the onset of their invasion on 4 April 1934 that heavily damaged the primary superstructure as well as the electrical and telegraphy systems. The deep interior corridors and stations, however, were left intact when Syara shocktroopers began their assault on 7 April. The battle of Fort Sirok became famous for the courage and endurance of its defenders whom, under the command of Guard-Major Maritsa Khederlarian, managed to repulse several attacks. Without electricity, both the attackers and defenders were often left fighting in total darkness.
On 18 April 1934, after eleven days of near continous fighting, the Ruvelkan garrison finally surrendered having exhausted their water, food, ammunition, and medical supplies. Guard-Major Khederlarian made several attempts to send messages via the fort's emergency pigeons for relief, but without having access to other communications she was unaware of the extent of the ongoing invasion. In her last message, Khederlarian wrote "No supplies left; long live Ruvelka".
After capturing the fortress, the Syarans left it manned with a skeleton crew. During the Liberation of Ruvelka, Földalatti forces under the command of Kata Kovács staged an assault to recapture the fortress. After securing it, Kovács produce a radio broadcast calling for a general uprising across Ruvelka. Local Syaran army forces made several attempts to recapture the fortress but were repulsed thrice; by the time the Syarans had gathered sufficient forces to assault Sirok the Syaran front line across the Kurilla and Matra Mountains was collapsing against the Common Axis, and the fort remained in Földalatti hands until they were relieved by Ruvelkan troops from the Ruvelkan army-in-exile.