Battle of Talia Valley

Battle of Talia Valley
Part of 2019 Invasion of Vyzhva
Jedorian forces before the battle
Date 17 February 2019 Location Eastern Vyzhva Result Jedorian Victory
Belligerents
Jedoria	Vyzhva
Commanders and leaders
Captain General Andrs Dīriķis	XXX
Units involved
8th Corps	5th Mechanized Division
Strength
70,000	~11,000
Casualties and losses
122 killed 4 missing 870 wounded	~1,000 killed ~5,000 wounded 1,000 captured

The Battle of Talia Valley was an engagement between Jedorian and Vyzhvan forces during the 2019 Invasion of Vyzhva. Jedorian armored forces of the 8th Corps attacked Vyzhvan forces in the Talia Valley, resulting in the defeat of the Vyzhvan 5th Mechanized Division. 8th Corps victory allowed Jedorian forces to push further into norther Vyzhva running parallel to the border with Kolodiya. According to Jedorian officials, this was a deliberate action to confuse the deployment of Vyzhvan reserves during the invasion.

Background

Vyzhvan forces were spread thin across the Kolodiyan border due to the general lack of hostilities between the two countries. In the weeks leading up to the invasion, the 5th Mechanized Division, the largest Vyzhvan formation in the area, was ordered to head east towards the border with Jedoria in an effort to repel the impending invasion. The 5th Mechanized was still on the move when the invasion began and the division was targgetted by Coalition air power on 15 February. The 5th Mechanized halted its movement upon learning of the Jedorian advance towards northern Vyzhva and began taking up defensive positions. Why the division did not continue moving in an attempt to disrupt the Jedorian crossing of the Tellan River is uncertain, but can possible be blamed on the breakdown in command structure as a result of the Coalition airstrikes, which severely impeded Vyzhvan tactical command and control, not helped by the overly centralized nature of Vyzhvan higher headquarters. Jedorian forces made first contact with the 5th Mechanized on the 16th during which several probes were made by the Jedorian advance guard.

Course of the battle

Jedorian forces began their attack with a series of rocket barrages intended to saturate Vyzhvan positions prior to the commencement of an armored assault. In accordance with doctrine, the 5th Mechanized had assumed standard divisional defense-in-depth measures, but the division lacked the manpower and material to cover the entirety of the Talia Valley. Opposing the 5th Mechanized was the Jedorian 171st Armored Division. Although nominally a reserve force, the 171st had been reinforced with the 244th Armored Brigade from the 23rd Mechanized Infantry Division, given the Jedorians a distinct numerical advantage. To take full advantage of their superior numbers the 171st spread out across the valley floor to form a three regiment front, with the 244th Brigade operating on the far left.

Under a withering barrage of shells, Vyzhvan forces maintained their defensive positions and attempted to halt the Jedorian advance, but were undone by the flanking efforts of the 244th Armored Brigade, which rolled through the Vyzhvan flanking regiment. Continuous shelling and armored assaults resulting in the 5th Mechanized losing cohesion as isolated hardpoints were overwhelmed from all sides. The divisions anti-tank regiment was thereafter introduced to stem the tide of Jedorian armor, but the outdated 100mm anti-tank guns couldn't reliably penetrate the armor of the Jedorian tanks. By noon the Jedorians had broken into the 5th Mechanized's tactical rear and had thrown back the Vyzhvan force as a whole. Sporadic fighting continued for the next 24 hours as the Jedorians secured their control of the valley.

Aftermath

The 5th Mechanized Divisions attempted to reconstitute itself further west, but too much of the divisions combat power had been lost in Talia Valley that it failed to make any further impact on the war. The destruction of the 5th Mechanized paved the way for 8th Corps to continue it's advance into the interior of Vyzhva, which followed soon afterwards. The 64th Infantry Division swung south while the 189th Armored Division continued further west. While not part of the encirclement of the Vyzhvan II Corps, the 8th Corps's continued advance drew Vyzhvan attention away from other areas, and further added to the confusion of the invasion. The 8th Corps would eventually link up with other Coalition forces that had invaded from further west.