Battle of Amstelveen

Battle of Amstelveen
Part of 1999-2005 Vulkaria War
Zamastanian Army soldiers take cover during a firefight with insurgents in the Diskana section of Amstelveen, 7 March 2001.
Date October 3rd, 2000-June 10th, 2002 Location Amstelveen, Vulkaria Result Coalition victory
Belligerents
Zamastan Quetana Haduastan Supported by: CCA Peacekeeping	MLF insurgents
Strength
10,160 initial forces 3,000 rescue forces 60 aircraft 40 helicopters 70 utility vehicles 90 trucks	2,000–4,000
Casualties and losses
Zamastan 800 killed 1,373 wounded 12 helicopters destroyed	6,310–8,000 killed

The Battle of Amstelveen, also known as the Second Battle of Amstelveen, was a major urban combat operation in the Second War in Vulkaria against the Malvarian Liberation Front insurgency and Coalition forces led by Zamastanian Army elements in the city of Amstelveen which began on October 3rd, 2000 and lasted until June 10th, 2002. The battle was prolonged due to deeply entrenched insurgent forces and a sprawling urban zone. The fighting resulted in over 800 Zamastanian, 130 Quetanan, and 200 Haduastan soldiers being killed. There were between 6,315 and 8,000 insurgent casualties.

After the Battle of Grayana, President Abram Mullen devoted an additional 50,000 troops to the conflict with the declaration that they would help "liberate Amstelveen". An operation to liberate Amstelveen was undertaken in January 2000, but Coalition forces quickly found themselves bogged down in house-to-house combat in tight quarters throughout much of the city, and casualties mounted. The battle thusly served to shift public opinion of the war in a negative direction. The battle's prolonged stalemate led to Mullen's decision to not run for reelection, and Camren Ellison eventually became President.

Preparations

Insurgents

In August 2000, Amstelveen was defended by about 10,500 "hardcore" and 10,000+ "part time" insurgents. By October, it was estimated that the numbers had doubled. Another estimate put the number of insurgents at 30,000; however, a number of insurgent leaders including Van'a Kamoni escaped before the attack. Amstelveen was occupied by virtually every insurgent group in Vulkaria. The Malvarian Liberation Front had their nationwide headquarters in a sector of Amstelveen.

The insurgents and foreign fighters present in the city prepared fortified defenses in advance of the anticipated attack. They dug tunnels, trenches, prepared spider holes, and built and hid a wide variety of IEDs. In some locations they filled the interiors of darkened homes with large numbers of propane bottles, large drums of gasoline, and ordnance, all wired to a remote trigger that could be set off by an insurgent when troops entered the building. They blocked streets with Jersey barriers and even emplaced them within homes to create strong points behind which they could attack unsuspecting troops entering the building. Insurgents were equipped with a variety of advanced small arms, and had captured a variety of Zamastanian armament, including guns, body armor, uniforms and helmets.

They booby-trapped buildings and vehicles, including wiring doors and windows to grenades and other ordnance. Anticipating Coalition tactics to seize the roof of high buildings, they bricked up stairwells to the roofs of many buildings, creating paths into prepared fields of fire which they hoped the troops would enter.

Intelligence briefings given prior to battle reported that coalition forces would encounter Elastani and Barangadeshi combatants, as well as native Vulkarians.