Battle of Loukussa
| Battle of Loukussa | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Prodavan War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Vionna-Frankenlisch |
 Prodava | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Major General Phillip Walman | General Solomon Warabe al-Salah | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
|
12th Cavalry Brigade | 11th (Loukussa) Division | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 20,000 | 18,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 1,154 |
7,000 Killed and Wounded | ||||||
The Battle of Loukussa was a decisive battle during the Vionna-Frankenlischian Operation Towton, during the opening days of the Prodavan War. An Imperial force under the command of Major General Phillip Wallman, opposed by ill-prepared Prodavan forces under General Solomon Warabe al-Salah, captured the important Prodavan industrial city of Loukussa in a series of assaults lasting six days. Loukussa was the first major battle of the Prodavan War.
Background
The violent coup of Black February brought down the old Prodavan Sultanate and replaced it with a new Republic. Hoping to take advantage of the political instability in Prodava to take back lost territory, Vionna-Frankenlisch declared war on 14th March 1991. The Imperial Army and the Vionna-Frankenlischian government were confident of a short, easy conflict to retake certain lost areas of the Ceasian Princedom and two offensives were planned to quickly and decisively scare the new Prodavan government into ceding territory.
The twin offensives were both planned for the opening of the war, one from Teutonberg named Operation Teuton and one from Grythshead named Operation Towton. Teuton, the larger of the two operations, was aimed at reaching the city of Ramubad and linking up with the strong royalist underground there. Towton's objective was the important industrial city of Loukussa. Taking Loukussa would stop all production of war material in northern Prodava. Major General Phillip Wallman had command of the twenty-thousand men of Operation Towton and they marched across the border between the Duchy of Grythshead and Loukussa Province at 0620 on 15th March.
Opposing Forces
Prodavan
The Northern Military District consisted of six divisions and twenty Bedouin Guard garrisons. It came under the overall command of General Hasan Hadi and had 18,000 men in the direct vicinity of Loukussa with another 12,000 to the south in Thralkeldia. Prodavan forces at the battle were commanded by 11th Division commander, General Solomon Warabe al-Salah and were divided into four units:
- 11th (Loukussa) Division - 8 battalions in 2 brigades - 12,000 men (General Solomon al-Salah)
- 64th Artillery Regiment - 4 batteries - 900 men (Major Zuyad Mehmet)
- Loukussa Bedouin Guard - 3 squadrons - 300 men (Boyuk Yusuf Najim)
- Loukussa Town Militia - 18 companies - 4,800 men (Colonel Farak Najeed)
The four batteries of the 64th Artillery Regiment were equipped with old Imperial 5-inch field howitzers and civilian labourers dug emplacements for them on all sides of the city to defend against an attack from any direction. Rifles used by the Prodavans varied between units. The army used Mausers which had been recently delivered, the Bedouin Guard used short Berthier Carbines and the militia mostly used Krag-Jorgensen rifles from old garrison stocks.
Imperial
Walman's Corps was just over twenty-thousand men strong. He had 2400 horse, 14,000 infantry and a strong artillery train, he also had the 800 crack dragoons of 8th Pathfinder Regiment. Major General Walman's force was also divided into three main units:
- 4th Infantry Division - 10 battalions in 2 brigades - 13,000 men Major General Phillip Walman
- 1st Guards Grenadier Brigade - 4 battalions - Brigadier - 4,000 men William Hunter, Baron Llyne
- 12th Cavalry Brigade - 4 regiments - 2,400 men Brigadier Sir George Montclair
In addition, Colonel Sir Caelan Holland commanded the significant artillery train of the Imperial force. This consisted of:
- 1st Siege Regiment, Royal Artillery - 12 guns in 3 batteries
- 2nd Siege Regiment, Royal Artillery - 12 guns in 3 batteries
- 5th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery - 18 guns in 3 batteries
- 6th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery - 18 guns in 3 batteries
- 8th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery - 18 guns in 3 batteries
March on Loukussa: 15th March 1991
The Imperial column was headed by the 12th Cavalry Brigade and the 8th Pathfinder Regiment which moved quickly towards the city, encountering no resistance. 8th Pathfinder, an elite unit of hand-picked dragoons, scouted the road to Ladlin, a vital crossroad village along the highway to Loukussa which commanded the heights above the city. There, the regiment entrenched itself to defend the incredibly important strategic point. Any counterattack from the south or west would have to come through Ladlin first and a successful Prodavan counter-offensive would cut the Imperial force in half should Ladlin be captured. Major Elias Horke, commanding 8th Pathfinder, was ordered to hold the position without thought of losses.
First Fighting: 1300, 15th March
Brigadier Sir George Montclair commanded 12th Cavalry Brigade and his dragoons and light horse were ordered to advance ahead of the slow infantry column and hold the entrances to the city for the main force. At 1pm on 15th March, the lead elements of Montclair's brigade came under fire from scouts of the Loukussa Bedouin Guard. The Prodavan forces, under the command of General Solomon al-Salah, engaged Montclair's brigade in dogged skirmishes as it approached within five miles of the city. Though Montclair's reports state no losses during this period, the constant threat of ambush and snipers had a strong morale effect, especially with no infantry in support. At 1730, Montclair halted the brigade to prepare his attack on the city's outskirts.
12th Cavalry's organisation had not changed since the Great War and it consisted of four regiments of cavalry, a battery of horse artillery and a small variety of support arms including medical, signals and a squadron of the Imperial Machine Gun Corps. Sir George Montclair organised his attack in three prongs. The Middle Frankenlisch Dragoons would lead a central thrust supported by the machine guns and horse artillery. On the left and right flanks respectively, Sir John Monkton's Hobelars and the Richmond Light Horse were to skirmish with the Prodavan defenders. MacCaernholm's Lancers were kept in reserve.
The attack began at 18:00 and met almost immediately with difficulty as a lack of cover made skirmishing tricky. Monkton's Hobelars withdrew in confusion when Sir John was hit by shrapnel and lost an eye. Pressure thus relieved on their weak left, the Prodavans were free to turn their guns against the Imperial center where the Middle Frankenlisch Dragoons made their advance. With the machine guns out of range and the field guns of the horse artillery were unable to get a proper firing angle. With no answer to the Prodavan howitzers, the attack was withdrawn with minor casualties.
Second Attack: 2100, 16th March
Overnight the wounded were tended to and the dead buried. Most of 16th March was spent in reconaissance. It seemed the Prodavans had yet to realise their massive superiority in numbers and equipment as Al-Salah ordered no sallies or counterattacks. Patrols, mostly from MacCaernholm's Lancers, mapped what they could of the Prodavan positions.