Arna Nguela
 Field-Marshal Arna Nguela | |
|---|---|
 Nguela in February 2017 | |
| Marshal of the Northern Army. | |
| In office 17th October 2016 – 16th March 2017 | |
| President | Dr Truman Kumbukani |
| Preceded by | Position Established |
| Succeeded by | James Mbutuo |
| Minister for Integration | |
| In office 27th March 2017 – 1st September 2017 | |
| President | Marcus van der Veld |
| Preceded by | Office Established |
| Succeeded by | Lt. Col. Jacob Kurnow |
| Commander in Chief, Armed Forces | |
| In office 2nd September 2017 – Incumbent | |
| President | Arna Nguela |
| Preceded by | Adm. Amos Slate |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Arna Juno Nguela 18th January 1990 Lanchester, Template:Country data KavoKavoene Commonwealth |
| Citizenship | File:DRA Flag.png Araabyne |
| Nationality | Shuhuntu |
| Political party | Provisional Government |
| Spouse | Paul Nguela |
| Children | Indira Nguela (b.2007) Chasi Nguela (b. 2014) |
| Parent(s) | Thomas Nguela Amy Nguela |
| Occupation | Military Officer, Major General |
| Profession | Government Minister |
| Nickname | Nguela of the Flame |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Template:Country data SUSa AraabyneFile:DRA Flag.png Democratic Republic of the Araabyne |
| Branch/service | SUSa Northern Army Araabyne Defence Force Armed Forces of the Araabyne |
| Years of service | Template:Country data SUSa 26th October 2016 - 16th March 2017 27th March 2017 - Present |
| Rank | Template:Country data SUSa Major General Major General |
| Unit | Northern Army ADF 1st Army |
| Commands | Northern Army ADF 1st Army Provisional Armed Forces |
| Battles/wars | Fourth Brush War Template:Country data SUSa Battle of Sunny Croft Template:Country data SUSa Battle of Vijters Template:Country data SUSa Siege of Haag Template:Country data SUSa Capture of Haag Battle of Gilesgate Battle of Potter's Bank Battle for Port Arthur Operation North Star |
Arna Nguela was a leading political figure within the Socialist Union of Sheera, and the People's Democratic Republic of Sheera, as well as the commander of SUSa's former Northern Army, which is now the Northern Army of the People's Army of Sheera. She is now the Commander in Chief of the Provisional Military of the Araabyne, having defected in January 2016, and is the Interim President of the Araabyne. Nguela came to prominence internationally during the Fourth Brush War, as a result of her conservative and more restrained rhetoric, and her successful military operations against ArKav forces at Sunny Croft, Vijters, and Haag. Prior to the Fourth Brush War she was known within SUSa as the more moderate counterweight to Dr Truman Kumbukani's more radical policies, and became a voice of reason within SUSa' upper echelons. Most recently she is the commander responsible for the Burning of Haag during shich around 12,000 people were killed and the majority of the city reduced to rubble; however this came as the result of an ultimatum and policy issued by SUSa leader, Kumbukani and she is widely believed to have been a reluctant participant.
Known as "Nguela of the Flame" as a result of the use of incendiaries and white phosphorus during the assault on Haag, she was first dubbed Nguela the Arsonist by Kavoene newspapers and propagandists working for ArKav, however the name Nguela of the Flame proved catchier and thus stuck in the international press and has since been used as epithet for her within SUSa.
Nguela is widely believed to the most competent military commander now involved in the Fourth Brush War, which is conceded even by ArKav in spite of her lack of formal military training of any kind. Her appointment as Marshal of the Northern Army was a largely political appointment as she had played a significant and influential part within SUSa's pre-war political structure which gained her popularity and favour. Since becoming a military commander however Nguela proved her ability both as a warrior and a tactician, by destroying vastly superior forces at Vijters, and later at Lanchester. Shortly thereafter she struggled to maintain the efficacy of her forces due to conflicting orders to destroy Haag while simultaneously pressing an attack south towards Sacriston.
In March 2017 in the face of Kumbukani's increasingly extreme policies and rhetoric Nguela defected to the PRA who were fighting in the south of the country. She subsequently served as a military and intelligence advisor before being appointed as Commander in Chief of all PRA forces. Through a combination of internal and international political pressure she is no the de facto Head of State of the PRA.
Early Life
Nguela was born in Lanchester in what at the time was Kavo, on the 18th January 1990, to parents Thomas and Amy (nee: Richards) Nguela. Her father was a miner and trade union representative at the nearby Chota Coal Mine, while her Mother was a part time teaching assistant at a local Primary School. She was the youngest of three children with two older brothers, Dennis and Raoul. She was sent to the St. Adelaide School for Girls, an expensive boarding school, her education was paid for through a trade union initiative. However in 2002 and the age of 12 she was forced to leave St. Adelaide's after her father's union clashed with the Apartheid government of Kavo over healthcare and pay; her father was labelled a dangerous dissident and fired from his job and her mother also lost her job by association. By 2004 the family were living in poverty in the slums on the outskirts of Lanchester, with her father continuing to come under attack by the government's secret police.
In 2006 after a series of black rights protests in Lanchester the slums were raided by police and Nguela's father was arrested, despite the fact that he had not been involved in the riots. Shortly after white mobs, led by the local white militia, entered the slums and put many of the houses there to the torch. One of Arna's brothers, Dennis, was killed in the violence, and she and her mother were dragged out into the street naked and raped. After the violence had died down it was revealed that her father had been beaten to death in jail by the local police and the family fled Lanchester northwards toward the Aramatherian border where they hoped to cross into the war torn failed state, and join up with one of the exiled black political factions based there.
In 2007 Arna gave birth to a daughter, Indira, who had been conceived after her rape the year before. Despite not knowing who the father of her child was Arna cared for the child and became devoted parent while finishing her education under the sponsorship of SUSa. In 2008 her brother Raoul died in a SUSa raid against a rival faction, and her mother wracked with grief would die only two months later. Now alone Nguela accepted an offer by SUSa to travel to tir Lhaeraidd to study Civil Engineering at the Royal University of Saied. Nguela would return to Aramatheria in 2012 after graduating with honours, and would take up a key administrative position ensuring proper sanitation and clean drinking water in SUSa camps throughout the region. In this role she met her future husband Paul Tkaal, who was a fellow SUSa sponsored graduate.
Arna Nguela and Paul Tkaal were married in 2013 in Aramatheria and according to Shuhuntu cultural tradition he took her name. The couple's daughter Chasi would be born the next year in 2014, and Paul adopted Indira as his own at the same time despite her mixed heritage and the circumstances of her birth. Shortly after the birth of Indira, Arna Nguela was offered a post in the military command echelon of SUSa for the coming invasion of Kavo.
SUSa Involvement
Nguela became involved with SUSa in 2007 at the age of 17 when her mother, brother, and herself fled into Aramatheria after the murders of her father and brother and persecution of their family. Drawn into the movement by Dr Truman Kumbukani's rhetoric and talk of an equitable society in Kavo the family were initially welcomed at part of the logistical support branch for a local guerrilla camp. Her brother Raoul would quickly be drawn into service as a guerrilla fighter and was killed in 2008, raising the movement's respect for Nguela and her mother who continued to work to support the rebel group. In September 2008 Arna Nguela was sent to the University of Saied, funded by the group in order to study Civil Engineering, in the hope that she would be able to better support the organisation while fighting a guerrilla war, and in the hoped for future when they controlled their own state.
According to the University of Saied Nguela's academic record was exemplary judged to be in line with her background as a privately educated member of the privileged black middle classes in Kavo. Although her tuition was funded by SUSa Nguela was required to find work in order to support herself and her baby. Upon graduating from the University in 2013 Nguela would return to the SUSa camps in Aramatheria, now married to fellow SUSa member and supported student Paul Tkaal. Upon arrival she was given control of her local camp and was tasked with ensuring that it had the necessary infrastructure for housing large numbers of guerrilla fighters and their families. For the next three years Nguela worked and fought for SUSa controlling the operations from her camp down to the minutest of details; her success as well as her educated rhetoric and growing popularity thanks to her efficiently managed camps and outposts led to her appointment in October 2016 to the position of 'Major-General Commanding the Northern Army'. This was a huge responsibility and made her the de facto second in command of the organisation as a whole.
From 2013 until the beginning of the Fourth Brush War in 2016 Nguela's primary role within SUSa was an organisational one. Although she was the head of a large camp and therefore a large number of guerrilla fighters her main day to day tasking lay in organising the camp, ensuring that its defences were sound and well maintained, and ensuring that there was sanitation and clean water, no small feat given the location and situation of the camp itself. Nonetheless the camp, and later camps, which came under Nguela's command proved to be some of the most efficient and capable within SUSa largely thanks to her educated leadership and concern for the welfare of her subordinates. It was during this time that Nguela developed her skills as a tactician and field commander, leading her troops of raids and skirmishes with local authorities and white militias across the border in Kavo.
Upon the outbreak of war on 26th October 2016 Nguela was in command of SUSa's Northern Army, which occupied the vanguard position and would do the bulk of the fighting.
Fourth Brush War
Nguela began the Fourth Brush War fighting as the principle field commander under Dr Truman Kumbukani as part of SUSa. Her forces would be responsible for the initial drive towards Sunny Croft, and indeed of the three field commanders only she was able to meet her initial objectives, overrunning Sunny Croft, outmanoeuvring the ArKav forces and catching the defenders at Haag on the back foot. While Kumbukani's forces to the East struggled to break the ArKav line around Lanchester and Mbutuo's forces advanced only to be pushed back at Fort Nijmegen Nguela was able to cut deep into Kavoene territory. By the end of December 2016 Kumbukani's forces were still pressing to take Lanchester but Mbutuo's forces had now retaken Fort Nijmegen leaving room for a rapid advance south and south east from there; Nguela meanwhile continued to struggle outside Haag, resisting advice from Kumbukani to employ White Phosphorus shells against the city's stubborn defenders.
With the siege settled in and little chance of a breakout by ArKav forces Nguela had chosen in the meantime to take the bulk of her forces further first east to Vijters and then south through Ridley Town and into Sunniside, simply bypassing the major defensive position at Haag and further cutting its defenders off from supply. This decision was intended to take some of the pressure off Kumbukani's forces engaged in Lanchester, and while militarily it achieved this goal the decision also infuriated Kumbukani who, as the leader of SUSa, wanted to be seen as the great leader. Faced with Kumbukani's ire and a host of new orders from him Nguela turned away from Vijters and pressed southwest to take her next objectives at Ridley Town and then Sunniside. Ridley Town was easily overrun, but more stubborn resistance was faced north of Sunniside when Nguela met ArKav's most successful and capable field commanders, General de Wet. Against Mbutuo and Kumbukani de Wet was unbeaten, every time he had managed to outflank and overpower their forces and now he employed similar tactics against Nguela and her forces. What followed was a battle of rapid manoeuvre as one flanking move after another was intercepted by Nguela's mobile reserves, the ultimate result of which was the depletion of a large number of ArKav's remaining mobile units and the death of de Wet himself after Nguela sent in a guerrilla raid against his command position.
Nguela's defeat of General de Wet turned politically toxic and soured relations between Nguela and Kumbukani further, and so finally issued the controversial order compelling Nguela to employ White Phosphorus against the city of Haag which remained defiant. Kumbukani knew that Nguela had refused to use such weapons in the past and hoped to place her in a difficult position; either she could accept the orders and become a war criminal, or she could refuse them and show herself to be insubordinate, either way Kumbukani could remove her at a later time on this basis. Three days after receiving the orders, on the urging of her advisors, Nguela conceded and ordered the use of White Phosphorus on Haag. The destruction of the city and the horrific deaths of the remaining inhabitants only drove a wedge further between Kumbukani and his second in command and, far from being dubbed a war criminal, Nguela was hailed as a reluctant hero by SUSa.
After Haag fell Nguela returned to her family for a week on leave and never returned. After an elaborate escape she and her family defected to the newly formed and increasingly viable Provisional Republic of the Araabyne; after her escape high ranking SUSa members still loyal to her broadcast the letter she had left outlining the reasons for her resignation and defection, and urging SUSa members to reconsider their course. Further outraged Kumbukani began rounding up Nguela's sympathisers and executing them, leading to a rift within SUSa and a sharp decline in the support of independent black militias for the movement.