Bulamu War

Bulamu War
(Clockwise from top right) Tiwuran soldiers during the initial Crossing Offensive, Tiwuran tank regiment in Sud Magadi, Yemeti troops during the Battle of Buholaux, Yemeti troops marching through recaptued Musaza, Tiwuran infantry in June 1965
Date 1 June 1964-25 April 1966 (1 year, 10 months, 3 weeks and 3 days) Location Bahia Result Yemeti victory Status quo ante bellum Tiwuran President Chinwe assassinated Sets up stage for the First Tiwuran Civil War
Belligerents
Tiwura Supported by: Template:Country data Estmere	Yemet
Commanders and leaders
Obie Chinwe Reese Okparro Ndulu Johnathan Tobechukwu Jules Afani Ijendu Uchechi	Abner Oronge Anwar Motuma Major-General Ezera Biruh
Strength
389,000 soldiers	480,000 soldiers
Casualties and losses
Tiwura 78,000 killed 81,000 wounded 15,000 missing and captured	Yemet 55,000 killed 75,000 wounded 19,000 missing and captured

The Bulamu War was a war in Bahia that occured between 1964 and 1966. It was intiated by a the Tiwuran invasion of Yemet. The war would take place mostly in Northern Yemet and Southern Tiwura, with Tiwura's eventual defeat leading to internal problems that would spark the First Tiwuran Civil War only a few months after.

Names

The name "Bulamu" comes from the name of the river on Tiwura and Yemet's southern border, the Bulamu, which was river Tiwuran troops would cross at the initial start of the war. The term "bulamu" comes from the !Ganda word for life.

Background

Prelude

In 1953 Tiwuran general Obie Chinwe would lead a successful coup against President Derrick Clearmont. This coup was backed by Estmere, who feared another pan-Bahianist takeover after Nhema's victory in Rwizikuru. Chinwe was backed due to his strongman nature, and he made promises of strengthening Tiwura after their losses in the Horo Rebellion. The Tiwuran relationship with Obergond would shift from being slightly cold to apathetic. Chinwe would proclaim several times during his early years that the Andutu and Ganda peoples should united under the Tiwuran flag, which was taken as a threat by many Obergonder authorities. In 1958 a small firefight broke out between Obergonder border patrol and Tiwuran soldiers, which led to a regional crisis solved by Weranian and Estmerish mediation.

By the 1960s, Chinwe's rule over Tiwura was weakening after three generals were arrested in a busted coup plot against him. This led to increased crackdown on dissent, and the Tiwuran government began putting blame on the unrest and troubling times on pan-Bahianists. In 1963, with the transition from Obergond into Yemet and the new state's ascension into the UBR, the Tiwuran government feared that this influence would spark new rebellions by pan-Bahianists in the country. Tiwura would expand its military greatly in the 1960s and built up troops along its southern border. The Tiwurans would amp up the spreading of national unity movement in the country, mainly the belief that all Tiwuran ethnic groups must be united under one flag, and that splitting them would cause the union to fracture and allow foreign influences to disrupt the unity and cause chaos. Chinwe also saw the value of the diamond mines along the border, believing that securing the abundance of raw resources there would help boost Tiwura's struggling oil-based economy by providing a secondary income source. Some Tiwurans, namely Solarian Catholics in Ouloumy, also called for uniting the Catholic Ouloumes under Tiwura. These beliefs of unification would become greatly popular as Tiwura's propaganda outlets went to work printing posters and setting up rallies.

The last event before the war was Rwizikuru's coup, and their exit from the UBR. This event caused the UBR's unity to break, and allowed for the disputes between Yemet and Maucha to grow. Seeing this period was the opportune time to strike Yemet while the UBR was fracturing, Tiwuran troops were mobilized along the border.

Events

Initial Offensive

The war was initiated when Tiwuran troops crossed the Bulamu river into Yemet in the morning of June 1st. Caught off guard, and with its military largely deployed elsewhere to deal with internal issues Yemet would be unable to form a substantial defence. Yemeti troops were forced into retreat due to the swift Tiwuran advance, which led to the Tiwuran forces reaching Musaza within a month. The First Battle of Musaza would take place in August with Tiwura's focus being on pushing towards Lehir, the second-largest city in Yemet. The First Battle of Musaza would bring Tiwura into launching a large offensive in Sud Magadi, which saw the largest and swiftest Tiwuran advance. Obie Chinwe called upon Ganda in Yemet to join his effort and raid resisting towns, which led to around 20,000 Andutu being massacred during the first seven months of war. Tiwuran forces would defeat a large Yemeti defensive position in Kisulou in the northwest, leading to Tiwuran forces nearing Lake Hayik, where the resistance began to increase and Tiwuran forces would be brought to a halt in the west.

At the same time in the east, General Uchechi would capture Musaza after a month long battle. This victory would boost Tiwuran morale. Tiwura's newly formed tank divisions would be deployed in the center with the focus on capturing Pumtere. This plan backfired and forced Uchechi to support Afani's tank divisions in the battle, leading to a much longer and deadlier siege than expected. When Pumtere fell, around 40,000 Tiwuran soldiers would move around the port city of Lehir preparing to encircle the city.

Stalemate and Guerrilla Attacks

Yemeti forces would rebound as the war drew on for months, and utilized Oronge's appeal to the Sotirian population to encourage guerrilla attacks against the Tiwurans in Pumtere, which was successful and led to the Tiwuran center being weakened immensly as supply lines from Tiwura would be sabotaged by Sotirian guerrilla fighters, experienced from Yemet's long war of independence. Chinwe's belief that the Ouloume and Sotirian peoples would join him was overestimated, and was only made worse as word spread of Tiwuran troops slaughtering Sotirian and Irfani civilians alike in their attacks on villages. Tiwuran tanks would be bogged down due to heavy rains and flooding north of Pumtere in September and led to General Afani's forces taking considerable loses. The Yemeti army would launch counterattacks and due to these losses pushed them back towards Pumtere. In Lehir Tiwurans would launch their offensive in late October and attempt to take the city by brute force, which led to ~8,000 Tiwurans and ~7,000 Yemetis dying in the attack and a Tiwuran retreat from the city in an effort to regroup their forces. The Tiwuran command began to suffer internal disputes as generals argued over which parts of the front would need more resources. Uchechi claimed Lehir, as Yemet's main economic center, was vital to victory. Chinwe agreed and ordered the reorganising Tiwuran army to attack the city, diverting reinforcements away from General Ndulu, the commander of the western forces. Ndulu, instead believing that they should focus on putting pressure on Lake Hayik and the capital and viewing that he had been largely ignored by his superiors, resolved to attempt an offensive regardless.