Battle of Sania
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| Battle of Sania | |||||||
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| Part of the Middle East Campaign of the Second Europan War | |||||||
 12 January 1939: Zanarkian troops charge on Quenminese lines | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
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Logistical & Indirect support:  Holy Galbadian Empire |
 Midgar Federation | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
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354,424 troops 2,785 tanks 877 armoured cars 1,032 guns 2,555 aircraft |
512,742 troops 4,724 tanks 557 armoured cars 1,796 guns 3,122 aircraft | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
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13,759 troops 500 tanks 130 guns 105 aircraft |
59,000-80,750 troops 40,000 captured 2,742 tanks 459 guns 199 aircraft | ||||||
The Battle of Sania (15 May 1938 - 21 March 1939) was a battle of the Second Europan War that took place near the Middle Eastern town of Sania, which was a small village just 15 miles from the Egypian border. The battle was the longest ever fought in both the North Africanna Campaign and the Middle East Campaign. The battle also marked the first clean defeat of the seemingly unstoppable Imperial Quenminese Army by the Lucis Commonwealth Armies and the other supporting allies in the Middle East Campaign.
The Battle of Mordan two months ago had prevented the Quenminese from advancing further and into the border, spoiling Quenminese plans for an invasion of the Africannian continent by March 1938. In mid-March 1938, Lieutenant-General Sir Archibald Sugiyama was transferred to the Middle East in order to replace the badly beaten Allied forces composing of the Dalmascans, Estharians, and Galbadians, and as well as Major-General Toushi Hasegawa's Lucian 9th Army. Sugiyama took over command of all Commonwealth and some allied forces after the sacking of General Hasegawa by Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill.
The Allied victory turned the tide in the North Africanna Campaign and the Middle East Campaign, ending the Imperial threat to Egypia, the Schwarz Canal and the North Africanna oil fields. The Battle of Sania revived the morale of the Allies, being the first big success against the Imperials in Africanna since 1936. The battle also ended all Quenminese hopes to annex North Africanna, and cooperatively annex the rest of Africanna with the Archadian Empire.
Background
As early as the before the war started, Quenminese Emperor Hiệp Mạng and Prime Minister Lý Học Thao Viên engaged in talks with the Archadian Duce Benito Solira Solidor. The Quenminese wanted to expand beyond Asianna and hoped to secure the Middle East in hopes of plundering the vast Middle Eastern Oil Reserves, which the Archadians had been investing on. The Archadians and Quenminese signed the Quen-Archadio Demarcation Agreement of 1933, in which the western half of the Middle East was under Archadian control while the Eastern was given to the Quenminese. The East Empire on the other hand did not participate since it possessed a massive share of the Rumanian Oil Fields with Rumania. In early 1934, the Quenminese Emperor, along with the Prime Minister and the Congress drafted the intended maximum border of the Empire. It was held in secrecy until it was revealed in 1945. It showed that the Quenminese Empire intended to expand as far as the Western North Africanna and through South Africanna, with Basel-Ebel included and partitioned with the Archadians. It also respected the Archadian's massive claim to Eastern Africanna, along with the Horn of Africanna. However, many had questioned the possibility of it being a reality during that time.
In April 1936, the Imperial Quenminese High Command and the Archadian High Command agreed to split the control of the Middle East. Archadian troops arrived on the Middle East through South Asianna. Primarily led by Archadian General Victor Sazabio, the Archadians linked-up with the Quenminese forces under the command of Thạch Hung Sõn Chiến. The two forces intervened in the Middle East Campaign of the war by the following month. Before, the Middle East was fought between Allied Forces consisting of Dalmasca, Esthar, and Galbadia against the Federal Forces consisting of Atlantic and Militesian Forces. The intervention by the Imperials, with the Midgarians and Rumanians joining was a complete shock for both sides. In June 1936, the Quenminese-Archadian Forces defeated the combined armies of the Militesi Empire and the Atlantic Federation, prompting the two forces to retreat to the Militesian Border, which the Imperials could not penetrate deep into.
In January 1937, the Lucis Commonwealth sent forces into the Middle East, supporting the rest of the Allied forces that were barely clinging to what was left of the allied-occupied territories in the Middle East. The Lucians led by Lieutenant-General George Wavell dug in and engaged the Quenminese and Archadian forces at the First Battle of Tol Zira. However, the Lucis Commonwealth, even with the help of the Allied forces were overwhelmed and overran by the Imperials, who launched the Lunar New Year Desert Offensive. Wavell was replaced by Lieutenant-General Toushi Hasegawa and took over command of the Lucian 9th Army. From February to June 1937, the Allies were forced to fall back along the Middle East. By November 1937, the Imperials were less than 100 miles away from the Egypian border. In January 1938, the Imperials defeated the combined Dalmascan, Estharian, and Galbadian formations, causing a retreat of the combined forces, which made the less numerical but professional Lucis Commonwealth Forces as the only Allied force that could possibly counter the advancing Imperials. The following month, the Imperials launched another New Year offensive similar to the one on the previous year. However, the Lucis Commonwealth forces were prepared and launched the Battle of Ardur Plains, which slightly stalled the Imperial advance. However, the following week, Quenminese Marshal Chien continued to press on through the plains, which was 50 miles wide in an attempt to catch the retreat Lucis Commonwealth forces off-guard.
Hasegawa's ill-handling of the Lucis Commonwealth forces caused him to be relieved of command in early April 1938 and replaced with Lieutenant-General Sir Archibald Sugiyama. Sugiyama was a master of defence and took advantage of Ultra to decipher Imperial information. Sugiyama reorganized intelligence and used their specialty to find out the next enemy movements. In late-March, the Lucians found out that the Imperial lines were too far stretched that as a result, a supply depot had to be built every 5 miles in order to maintain supply lines. Shipments from East Archadian Africanna and the Quenminese colony of Indiae were attacked and raided by RAF planes. As a result, supply had to be delivered by road, which was also risky since the RAF still retain control over the air since the 1936.
By late-April 1938, the Lucians dug-up at a small village of Sania, which was easily resupplied daily with numerous food, munitions, and other necessities by Lucian, Dalmascan, and Galbadian supplies. The Imperials decided to proceed with the upcoming battle to use numerical superiority as a way to overwhelm the Lucis Commonwealth Forces defending the area around the village. However, the replacements were less trained than those that were originally brought from the start. The Marshal Chien and General Sazabio knew this but decided to conceal it, so as not to cause a drop in morale. Sugiyama had less numerical strength but the troops were well-trained and professionals. The Lucis Commonwealth also received new armoured tanks such as the Cromwell tank and the Comet tank, which was far superior than to what the Quenminese or Archadians were offering. The RAF still retained mastery of the Middle East Airspace and conducted various air raids to disrupt Imperial Supply Lines. By May, Marshal Chien was ordered by the Emperor and Prime Minister to attack.
Prelude
Allied plan
In early 1938, Allied High Command estimated that the best place to defend the Egypian border from the advancing Imperials was at Sania due to the fact that it was located in the middle of a wide valley, which meant that the Imperials only had to take one route. There were 2 other routes that the Imperials could have taken, which were at Alam Sfakia and Bergazi. Unfortunately, the area was too narrow for a large invasion force, which was actually anticipated by the Imperials (who decided that Sania was the best place to take to get to the Egypian Border).
Meanwhile, Gallian General Friedrich O'Connelly, who had been given a mission to support the Kurdian Revolt against the Quenminese and the Archadians. Since late 1937, O'Connelly had been working closely with Prince Hashur, who was the leader of the Kurdian tribes of the Middle East and have been seeking for help and appeal from the Allied forces in exchange for oil trade. The Lucis Parliament had secretly wired an agreement. The Gallian Governor-General Derrick McCreary had sent Gallian and Lucian officers to serve as military advisers to the Kurdians. O'Connelly was easily the most recognizable for his liaison roles, as well as leading the Kurdians in battle. Soon, O'Connelly and Hashur became good friends. Because of his unending support, O'Connelly gained the moniker of Friedrich of Arabia, a title which was also adopted in a 1962 epic film. With the Commonwealth winning the support of the Kurdians, the Commonwealth would be able to conduct raids on several Imperial depots, which proved vital during the middle stages of the battle.
The Commonwealth had around 2,785 tanks, most of which consisted of Crusader tanks and some Gallian Rein tanks and Theimer tanks. When Sugiyama took over, they were supplanted with the heavier Matilda IIs and newer Churchill tanks, as well as the more modern Cromwell tanks and the Comet tanks. Originally, Bethausian General Zaw Sein Arkar, the Bethausian aide to Sugiyama was to be included in the Battle. However, Sugiyama had ordered him to stay behind in East Africanna since without the Bethausians, the Allied bases in East Africanna, and as well as South Africanna would be easily taken over by the Archadians in the Archadian East Africanna colony without a force to counter them. At the first day of the battle, defenders around Sania numbered to only 185,945 troops, compared to the Imperials 309,785 strong. Sugiyama knew that numbers were his disadvantage. However, the replacements that he had bought from his days in East Africanna were well-trained and majority were skilled professionals in both attacks and defence. He thought that with the superiority in terms of combat effectiveness, his infantry can withstand numerous enemy attacks for many weeks, even months. Commonwealth supply lines were also easily accessible. Dalmascans, Estharians, and Galbadians supplied Sugiyama's army with food, water, and munitions, which will allow them to continue holding out for a long time. Radar, as well as Ultra was utilized to signal the Commonwealth defences of an incoming Quenminese attack, which the defenders would be able to man defensive positions and be aware of the enemy strength. There were two Royal Artillery Regiments that provided long-range artillery, and Sugiyama had each positioned the two such that their guns had sufficient range to fire at all incoming Imperial forces at all three checkpoints.
Around Sania, there were three checkpoints, Checkpoint Gordon in the north, Checkpoint Lavinia in the south, and Checkpoint Jane in the center. The most critical of these was Checkpoint Jane, since it provided the Imperials with the closest route to Sania. Sugiyama had assumed command of all the forces around the Checkpoint to ensure that there would be more defending troops that could keep up the defensive lines. The weakest was at Checkpoint Gordon, which was only manned by a handful of Commonwealth troops. However, Sugiyama had placed them under the command of his wife, Brigadier Tsukuyo Kushineda, who had numerous tanks at her disposal, including the specialist tanks designed by the Royal Engineers. To the south, Gallian Brigadier Friedrich O'Connelly assumed command of Checkpoint Lavinia, where the Gallians heavily anticipated a massive attack by the Archadians. The southern checkpoint was also supported by Kurdian rebels, who provided decisive information on enemy positions. O'Connelly also had extra manpower to delegate to the northern checkpoint if it were to be overrun. In case if the Imperials did push through Sania, Sugiyama had prepared a defensive line at the Egypian border. The border crosses the Scharz Canal and past the bridges was a mountain range where Sugiyama had positioned artillery pieces and hull down tanks to defend the passes. However, after the Battle of Sania, the defences on the border were deactivated and just an outpost army was placed since most of the artillery and tanks were relocated to the Allied offensive against the Imperials.
Imperial plan
After overcoming Allied defences for 2 years throughout the Middle East, Quenminese Imperial Marshal Count Thạch Hung Sõn Chiến became confident that another massive offensive would drive the Allies back into Egypia since the Allies had been suffering back-to-back defeats. The Quenminese Count also was supported by Archadian Marshal Victor Sazabio, who was a veteran of the First Europan War. Chien and Sazabio worked cooperatively to be able to push through Allied forces and force them back. Even with the Commonwealth forces arriving in 1937, the Allied failed to stall Imperial advance. Their doctrines were similar but different. The Archadians did not attack savagely like the Muon Nam charges and mostly depended the a combined infantry and tank attack and pushing forward into enemy lines. The Quenminese on the other hand utilized Muon Nam charges as part of a Warrior code, as well as savage artillery attacks, which proved pivotal in any Quenminese attack during that time.
The Sania-Middle East Railway was vital to the Imperial War Plans since both Marshal Chien and Sazabio needed continuous flow of supplies coming in since the RAF conducted non-stop attacks on Imperial shipments of food, water, and munitions. These continuous attacks would also drive Chien to come up a solution of constructing a depot every 5 miles to ensure that every man was well-armed and fed. Sazabio supported this by deploying Archadian fighters to combat the RAF planes, as well as Anti-Aircraft regiments. However, these were also sabotaged, since the Kurdian Rebels had been continuously destroying every Anti-Air defences to allow RAF planes to raid and bomb the depot stations. This resulted in both commanders depending on every route to supply every able man.
The Quenminese Count's plan for Sania was to conduct a fast offensive similar to the East Empire's Blitzkrieg or Lightning War. Chien had been working with several East Europan Generals to perfect it and adopt it for Quenminese use. For the battle, the Count adopted the tactic in a pincer movement, which was to push the northern and southern defences, and then encircle the central defences, which would by that time be too late to turn around and meet the flanking Imperials. The South was handled by Sazabio's Archadian Forces. Heavy Artillery attacks were also to be carried out day and night onto the central flank. Chien believed that with the artillery attack continuously weakening the Central flank, it would be easy to pincer and annihilate the Commonwealth center.
Chien and Sazabio also had bought Rumanian and Midgarian forces into the battle, which would prove intrumental in reinforcing the lines. Unfortunately, the Midgarians were less-trained while the Rumanians were well-trained but obsolete in arms, despite being re-armed by the Archadians. Nevertheless, it proved helpful for every man to hold a rifle in the lines. Because of this, The Imperials numbered to a staggering 309,785 on the eve of the battle. Reinforcements soon arrived and increased this number to 512,742 while the defending Commonwealth forces only had a handful to defend the pass.
At the early stages of the campaign, the Quenminese and Archadians were well-trained. However, months passed and these well-trained numbers continued to drain. Replacements started to come in as early as late 1937, when it was found out that the replacements were less trained and did not meet troop quality during the early stages of the campaign. This proved to be a significant drawback to the Imperials. However, both the Marshals agreed to conceal this fact since Imperial morale and confidence at defeating the outnumbered Lucis Commonwealth Forces at Sania was at an all-time high. Quenminese General Kiều Dũng Quang suggested that despite their troops being less-trained, they can still be able to win the battle by intimidation. Archadian General Giovanni Filiberto had a different theory. He suggested that with the encirclement of all Allies in the city, the defenders would be starved to submission and surrender. The two Marshals considered the theories and adopted them into their tactics later on but at a great cost.
However, Archadian General Filiberto was also concerned about the quality of tanks that the Lucians had possessed. Despite fielding twice the amount of tanks that the Lucians had possessed, majority of the Lucian tanks that they had faced possessed a stronger frontal armour than their tanks. Quenminese tanks included XN-33 Hình-Ba, XN-38 Anh-bon, XHT-36 Trung-Ba, XHT-40 Trung-Ba-Cai and Archadians bought their M11/39 Carro Armato, M13/40 Carro Armato, and the newer M14/41 Carro Armato and a few Semovente 75/18s and Semovente 75/34s. Filiberto became skeptical that in a tank-on-tank battle, the Commonwealth would win. However, Quenminese General Quang suggested that a massive tank attack thrust towards Allied tanks would allow their somewhat inferior tanks to gain the upper hand since the Lucians did not possess greater numbers and that their numerical superiority would turn the tide in their favour. Filiberto reluctantly concurred.
As a result of their intelligence advantage, the Lucians were well aware that Chien and Sazabio would use numerical superiority to their advantage. However, no clear picture emerged of how they would fight the battle and, in the event, Lucis Commonwealth forces were able to correctly predict the said tactic and pincer movement.
The Battle
Phase 1: Imperial Forces attack on all sides
On the morning of May 15, the Imperials began the attack. Starting at the central flank, where Quenminese General Quang to commence a dagger-thrust towards the allied lines. Quang simply did this by using simultaneous infantry muon nam charge towards Lucian trenches and armoured and artillery support. The shelling felt by the Lucians was described as "intensive hell" as the shelling continued for the next 5 days and it was uninterrupted. However, 3 days within the shelling, Chien ordered to cease the shelling due to Quang consuming too much of the artillery shells that could be used for other attacks. Supporting the infantry were tanks, mostly composed of light and medium tanks, which were crucial to the plan. Quang believed that a combined force would be sufficient to split the central flank in two. However, the tanks that the Quenminese possessed did not match the quality of those used by the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth also had 2-pounder AT guns that were extremely effective against the thin armour plating on the Quenminese tanks. The Tristanian Guards were faced by the larger 112th Division, along with some remnants of the elite 5th Imperial Quenminese Guards and faced overwhelming numbers. 10 days within the battle, the Quenminese had failed to penetrate through the lines controlled by the Tristainian Guards and were forced to divert to the south, where the 5th Zanarkian Division held their ground against the main force of the 5th Imperial Guards. However, they failed as well and were forced to fall back and regroup. Further up north, elements of the 91st Division and the 2nd Imperial Quenminese Guards managed to encircle the 2nd New Akiba Division for a short period of time. The encircled New Akibander Division was trapped. When Sugiyama was informed, the 4th Basel-Ebelian Division was sent in to relieve and break the encirclement. As the Basel-Ebelians made their attack, the encirclement was broken, which forced the 91st Division to fall back while the 2nd Imperial Guards carried on the fighting. On June 15, the Guards Division were taking losses, which prompted Quang to order a regroup of the Guards. By the end of June, Quang still had not penetrated further into the central lines as he had expected.
To the south, the Archadians engaged with elements of the Gallian forces positioned at Checkpoint Lavinia. The Gallians were led by Brigadier Friedrich O'Connelly, who had also solicited the support of the local Kurdian tribes, who continuously raided Imperial convoys and depots. Sugiyama had given arms to the Kurdians, some who volunteered to fight in the Gallian trenches. Sazabio attacked near the central flank while Filiberto attacked further south. The Archadians however will disorganized in massed infantry charges, causing casualties to start rising at the southern portion. The tank attacks carried out by the Archadians were successful in some ways. Although, O'Connelly had diverted a few groups from the Lucian 7th Armored Division to reinforce the centre, which was eventually plugged by early-June. Near the central flank, Lucian and Gallian forces faced several Rumanian attacks. However, these proved to be a shortcoming since the Rumanians were poorly trained, and most charging groups were driven back with ease. Archadian and Rumanian tanks were never a problem as it did with the Quenminese tanks in the central flank. On June 29, the Archadians regrouped for another attack.
To the north, the Lucis Commonwealth forces were severely outnumbered. Checkpoint Gordon had an airfield that was vital for both sides and capturing it meant an easy victory. Quenminese Marshal Count Chien decided to attack from the north, where the Lucis Commonwealth flank was weaker and that taking the airfield would allow them to easily encircle the allied defences and take Sania. The outnumbered Commonwealth forces were led by Brigadier Tsukuyo Kushineda. Kushineda knew that her flank would fall in a matter of a week if she did not receive any reinforcements. Her husband, General Sugiyama assured that she would be reinforced in the form the of the Nihhonese Guards. Kushineda only had 3 divisions while Chien had 5, with one in reserve. However, Kushineda had the defence advantage, since she positioned her forces near the River Korlan and the Aldorza Oasis, which limited the Quenminese movement to attempt to flank the north. Chien, however, insisted that a combined infantry, armoured, and artillery attack would break the north and allow his more numerical superior Quenminese force to bypass the central defences. However, the tenacity of the defending Commonwealth forces on Checkpoint Gordon had shocked Chien, since the less-numerical defenders were repulsing his offensive, even with tank or artillery support. Chien decided to bomb the defenders with the use of the Imperial Quenminese Air Force. The bombings did little to break the line, and the defenders were soon reinforced by the more superior RAF. After 15 days of combat, Kushineda opted that the only way to extend the defensive lines was to cross the river and drive the defenders out. On June 6, Kushineda ordered the 1st Basel-Ebelian Division to push across the weaker left flank on the Quenminese. Although met with heavy resistance, the Basel-Ebelians were able to cross the river, which prompted Kushienda to throw a savage artillery barrage on the Quenminese lines. The barrage had caused confusion among the Quenminese lines, which finally prompted Kushineda to push her less-numerical force across the river and drive the Quenminese out of the Korlan Crossing.
Phase 2: Quenminese attack on Checkpoint Gordon fails, Archadian troops renew their attacks
Phase 3: Sugiyama arrives with more reinforcements, Imperial forces forced back 10 miles from their initial positions
Phase 4: Tank Battle at Sania Plains; Midgarians and Rumanians retreat from the battle
Phase 5: Marshal Chien launches a savage counterattack; Lucis Commonwealth forces regroup; Arrival of the Accordish Highlanders
On November 1, Chien ordered Generals Quang, Sazabio, and Filiberto to regroup all possible forces for a last major effort to defeat the allied forces. They assumed their original assignments from the first day of the battle, with Chien attacking the expected weaker northern flank, Quang on the centre, and Filiberto and Sazabio on the south. The previous day, reinforcements were able to arrive but unfortunately for them, the replacements were newly-trained and did not have the capacity to fight in a prolonged period of time. However, the morale in the Imperial lines were still running high and many were still confident of a total victory. However, Filiberto became more skeptical now that the armoured attack that took place the previous month had failed to create a gap and now depended on numerous regroups. Chien however was against the plan of retreat and regroup and said that anyone that was caught retreating will be shot. The policy extended to the Archadians as well.
Five days later, the attacks were launched and the Lucis Commonwealth forces were surprised at such an offensive. Sugiyama ordered all flanks to fall back and regroup into defensive formations and held on until reinforcements would arrive. Sugiyama called in the reserve forces to reinforce the central flank, where the battle was becoming heavier and heavier. To the north, Kushienda was on the brink of retreating but continued to hold on since the RAF was still supporting her flank. To the south, the Gallians were able to hold on against the heavy concentrations of Archadian forces trying to push the southern flank. Knowing that the central needed reinforcements aside from the reserves, O'Connelly diverted the King's Gallian Rifles and the Gallian 3rd Armoured Division immediately to Sugiyama's flank, giving a boost against the more numerial superior Quenminese forces.
On December 20, a message from Sania had been relayed to Sugiyama, O'Connelly, and Kushineda that several Accordish Highlander Divisions had arrived to reinforce all three flanks. Accordish General Alan MacDonald arrived with some Accordish Highlander Divisions and reinforced Sugiyama's flank. The Gordon Highlanders were diverted to the north, where Kushineda was still holding out. The more elite Highlanders arrived from the southern flank of Kushineda's sector. However, the distance from the battlefield caused both sides to think that it was their reinforcements. Quenminese Marshal Chien thought that it was 85th Division sent by Quang to finally push the Commonwealth back into retreat on the northern flank while Kushineda hoped that it was the Gordon Highlanders. When the decals on the tanks confirmed that it was indeed the Highlanders, Kushineda and her staff were overjoyed. The Highlanders immediately engaged with the Quenminese and Archadians still pushing towards Kushineda, which caused Chien to divert resources to prevent the Highlanders from reinforcing Kushineda. Chien, however, had made a mistake. With him diverting half of the attacking force to the Highlanders, Kushineda was able to push forward and link-up with the Highlanders. The resulting action proved catastrophic for the Imperials. With the north forcing the Imperials to fall back, Kushineda would be able to reinforce the central flank. On Christmas Day, Kushineda slightly extended and cut-off the northern retreat, which only allowed the Central and Southern paths as the only option for retreat for the Imperials. Chien was shocked at the action, as well as Quang, who, on his own accord, pulled his troops back as well in an attempt to catch up with Chien's retreating column. The Archadians on the other hand retreated the same time as Quang's column.
Phase 6: The Crumbling and Retreat from Sania
With the retreat of the Imperial forces on all flanks, the only town where the Imperials can retreat back to is Ardur, which Kushineda attempted to encircle while O'Connelly and Sugiyama gave chase. On January 12, Kushineda launched a massive attack on Ardur, while the Gordon Highlanders were defending her flank against a possible Quenminese relief force, which by that time, could no longer be produced. 3 days later, the last route into safety was cut-off and many Quenminese and Archadians tried to find their own way out of the encirclement. Chien, Quang, Sazabio, and Filiberto had evacuated 5 days before the encirclement was completed. They escaped to the central regions of the Middle East, where Chien attempted to raise an army to reinforce the Imperial troops still trapped at the encirclement near Ardur. However, half of Sugiyama's forces had already pursued the retreating Imperial columns as far as Sidi-Al-Faya, which would render the relief force to attempt to relieve their own army if this formation put up resistance. By the end of February, there were still 57,000 troops that were still trying to escape the encirclement. Most were already low on ammunition or had surrendered. For the Quenminese, however, it was a different story. Most relied on Muon Nam charges in an attempt to breakthrough. However, the efforts were futile. By March 19, Chien realized that all further attempts to relieve the encircled forces were no longer possible. By March 21, Cut-off, low or out of ammunition, and badly low on morale, those that survived the battle surrendered to the Lucis Commonwealth forces. More than 40,000 survivors were captured. The Quenminese High Command, including the Emperor and Prime Minister expressed their disappointment, and many in the Imperial General ranks felt humiliated by the loss.
Analysis
Commonwealth side
Poorly-coordinated prior to Sugiyama's stepping in of command, the Lucis Commonwealth forces were badly commanded. Sugiyama's predecessor, Lt. General Toushi Hasegawa was known for placing unsuitable field commanders at the wrong place and at the wrong time. Hasegawa also had a bad understanding of Dominion and other Commonwealth troops and failed to recognize their capabilities in combat. He was constantly berated for his lack of initiative such as failing to prevent a Quenminese offensive on a thin line during the Battle of Ardur Plains. His lack of initiative also had costed the Lucians every opportunity to regain the initiative against the Imperial Forces.
When Sugiyama had stepped in, the confidence among Lucian and Commonwealth field commanders were restored. Sugiyama had replaced some of the field commanders that served under Hasegawa who those that he could be able to trust. Sugiyama had also improved the troop quality of the Commonwealth forces by providing them with additional training in desert warfare and the importance of carrying out a coordinated attack and defence. The utilization of the Radar technology, as well as Ultra deciphering codes helped the Commonwealth to obtain classified Imperial movements, as well as raising awareness of an incoming enemy attack. The Imperials, specifically the Quenminese had also possessed Radar but the Quenminese and its Imperial allies were never able to compete or possess the kind of Radar technology that the Lucians had possessed.
Another contributing factor was the support of the various Kurdian tribes, who had been deceived by the Imperials due to their false message that they would grant an "oasis" for the local peoples of the Middle East. Gallian General Friedrich O'Connelly had been assigned as an intelligence officer for the Kurdians and assisting them in their raids against Quenminese and Archadian outposts and liberating local villages. The Kurdian support for the Commonwealth had been high since the start of the war. The intelligence that some local Kurdians had possessed gave the allies much opportunities to raid various supply lines, which contributed to the matters of the Imperials being unable to supply some outposts. The Kurdians had also caused confusion and sabotage within the Imperial lines.