Kasvukipuja
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Kasvukipuja (Kantemoshan: "Growth Pains") is the name given to the roughly four year period of violence and unrest immediately following the secession of the Kantemoshan and Ambrazkan territories from the UPSR during the Sostava War. The conflict was characterized by many different factions coming forward to fight, either for the independence of certain states for ethnic or political reasons, or to compete for dominance over the entire region. Factions rose and fell about every year, with towns changing hands constantly, some cases seeing towns being taken over by three different opposing factions over the course of a day.
The war itself started out as particularly violent civil unrest in cities after the provisional government was announced to be holding initial elections in March of 1983. Key factions, such as the Socialist State of Miravice (SSoM) and the Socialist State of Pemitovo (SSoP), rose up during this phase of the conflict, with entire provinces or cities being claimed as they seized pre-war militia stockpiles and civilian armaments. The Provisional Government of Kantemosha and Ambrazka (Kantemoshan: Kantemossi ja Ambron väliaikainen hallitus), or KjAVH, moved second-line army units, just arrived from securing the borders and fighting for the regions' secession, to put down these revolts, but low morale and lack of belief in the government, who was then believed to be mostly Soravian oligarchs, caused entire units to surrender their arms, vehicles and themselves to these movements, adding fuel to the flames. Over the course of the four years from that point, the regions of Kantemosha and Ambrazka went ablaze as the KjAVH fought to stabilize the country and preserve their grip on power. For three of the four years, the KjAVH's main rivals, the Kantemoshan People's Liberation Movement (Kantemoshan: Kantemoosinin Kansan Vapautusrintama), KKV, and Ambrazkan Revolutionary Movement (Ambrazkan: Ambrohzkovo revolučné hnutie), ARH, impeded its efforts to stabilize the country, before leadership changes and negotiations caused the three to pursue the same goal and effectively become one.
On the 12th of July, 1987, the Koskunen Concordat was signed by the three parties after the major, jointly-conducted Pähkinä Offensive was undertaken successfully, crushing the Holy Path's Armed Front (Ambrazkan: Ozbrojená Divízia Svätej Cesty), aka OdSC. Coalescing the three movements together into the Federal Government of Kantemosha and Ambrazka, the two independent states of Socialist Miravice and Socialist Pemitovo were coerced into being signatories to the treaty at threat of provincial destruction. Following the treaty, resistance by any remaining factions were brutally crushed by the newly formed armed forces of the Union, and by the 25th of September, Kantemoshan authorities announced that armed hostilities had ceased, marking the end of the conflict.
Origins
Kasvukipuja found it's origins in Soravia's internal struggles during the Sostava War (1979–1983), with corruption and constant power over-reach of the then-current Soravian president, Vilem Gardos. With little power left in the Soravian Federal Assembly, there was little faith in their ability to fix the situation. Dissent grew in the higher echelons of the Soravian military, with the resignation of Sava Tokar, leading general officer of the Soravian Army, seeing outright retaliation and character assassination by Gardos as he took away Tokar's military honours. This fueled dissatisfaction with the government, eventually manifesting into outright mutinies of large portions of the Soravian military. In addition to the opportunistic officers of the Soravian military mutinying against an increasingly dictatorial government, guerilla movements all over the Soravian held territories rose up, such as in Zalykia. Mutinous soldiers and some of these guerilla movements (New Voyin Movement) became collectively known as 'Partisans', whilst loyalist military forces and loyalist militias, fighting in the Presidency's name, fought under the label of 'Constitutionalists'.
As the struggle developed, other constituent republics under Soravian rule at the time saw the opportunity to break free, such as Bistravia, Radushia and Vedmed. Among these republics were the two constituent republics of Kantemosha and Ambrazka, that collectively rose up under a single front to push against Soravian units and push them across the old borders. Through popular uprising and military mutinies in these areas by natives, Soravian control was quickly wrestled away as the Presidency found itself stretched thin. Kantemoshan and Ambrazkan soldiers would secure western borders with Soravia by 1982, and for less than a year, were able to rest. Despite this outstanding victory, Kantemosha and Ambrazka had only coalesced in a time of opportunity, with little ideological similarity between many groups. A provisional government consisting of majority Kantemoshans was established as the KjAVH, but scandal immediately arose as a number of these 'ethnic Kantemoshans' and 'ethnic Ambrazkans' were revealed to be Soravian oligarchs, seeking to keep control of their estates by staying with the new government. Other pitfalls of the government included lack of experience in civil management, creating logistical crises that affected the civilian populace, especially for those in Ambrazka who were often the last to receive shipments. This set the stage for the initial stages of Kasvukipuja.
Initial Stages
The beginnings of the conflict have their roots in widespread civil unrest in major cities, like in Koskunen, Adalunovo, and Mestissaari. However, what few know is that militias originally risen to help push out the Soravians from the territories immediately began splitting from the mainstream narrative asoon as the dust began to settle. Certain militias, such as the socialists of Pemitovo and Miravice, both territories that bordered socialist Kirenia, immediately began pulling the strings to instigate major riots in their provinces' major cities of Mirasoko and Ňorovice. Whilst local police forces of major cities like Koskunen and Adalunovo still carried strength from before war and were motivated, other cities were not so fortunate. Some police forces were severely depleted in manpower, or those that did have the manpower they needed to control crowds did not have the equipment to deal with rioter violence. This prompted calls to bring in the army, particularly second-line units that were just being formed out of a jigsaw puzzle of militias.
Initial Military Intervention
The provisional government, seeing its cities starting to burn and it's law enforcement organs increasingly unable to control the situation, instituted martial law in a fit of panic, rushing recently formed second line units, such as the 1-12th Armoured Infantry Battalion, to problem cities such as Adalunovo and Mirasoko.
Adalunovo, before the army even marched through it's streets, would be the first city to hear the sounds of gunfire in its streets, as socialist militias fought with fascist gangs in the streets around the Glass House, Ambrazka's state duma. The responding unit to this action, the 1-12 Armoured Infantry Battalion, quickly ran into issues as a third of their units' infantry transports/APCs ran out of fuel on the way to the city, forcing many soldiers to march with their kit through inclement weather conditions.Ontop of having to pacify the city, their task was further compounded by militiamen exchanging fire with the demoralized and ill-trained troops from high rooftops and from the sewers. The effects on unit morale was immense, and within days of reaching the city, half of the units' combat strength had molten away, with hundreds of weapons and dozens of armored assets falling into the hands of guerillas. Some soldiers, mostly Ambrazkans, even turned to these militias.
The situation played out the same with units in Ňorovice, Mirasoko, and Mestissaari, quickly throwing fuel on the fire as these irregular military organizations gained traction and manpower, claiming cities as their own and presenting an existential threat to the KjAVH. By July 1983, border militias were reformed from recovered soldiers and civilian militias with Soravia, letting first-line army units go into the interior as the first actual factions of the war emerged, such as the Kantemoshan People's Liberation Movement or KKV, and the Ambrazkan Revolutionary Movement, ARH.
'First Offensive'
The situation quickly grew out of hand as KKV militants quickly stormed Mestissaari's seats of power and, in their momentum, attempted an organized attack on Koskunen on the 16th of July, 1983. However, by the 19th, the KKV were unable to get past the outskirts of Koskunen in the Battle of Uolli, where civilian militias loyal to the KjAVH and armed police forces were able to stem the offensive made by the militant organization. This did not stop the KKV from taking the surrounding farmlands and quickly spreading out from it's origin points in northwestern Kantemosha. Through the acquisition of various military equipment stowage sites and through the desertion of unmotivated KjAVH military elements, the KKV's numbers swelled.
Throughout the months of July to September, army units from the northwestern border with Soravia attempted numerous breakouts from their positions at the border, this period being called the 'First Offensive' as there was no coordination or even name for the entire movement. Sufficed to say, this spontaneous movement of forces with little in the way of competent leadership resulted in hundreds of deaths on the way to Koskunen. Most famously was the Battle of K/30, an attempt by the, now defunct, 1st Motorized Cavalry Group to push straight into Koskunen from the border through Kantemosha State Highway 30. Lasting from July 19th to October 4th of 1983, KjAVH troops unsuccessfully tried to clear a corridor down the roadway, suffering heavily at the hands of the KKV and newly-formed militias belonging to the KSR.
The most important of the very few success stories in this period was the Push on Viitakaupunki, a breakout attempt done by armoured KjAVH troops. Viitakaupunki constituted an important part of Kantemosha's coastal railways, having a rail depot, aswell as having a major port for bringing in international goods. The town was then controlled in majority by the KKV, along with two other opposing groups that held it's eastern suburbs. Low on fuel, provisions and ammunition, the battlegroup made an aggressive push into the city, a process that began in August 22nd of 1983 and ending in their success after breaking into the downtown in October 19th. After this, multiple, small offensives supported by artillery allowed the western theatre of KjAVH troops to become connected with Koskunen, bringing much needed supplies, manpower and fuel, while also relieving troops defending the city, if only for a time.
Down in Ambrazka, the lack of proximity to higher leadership and the rough terrain of the region posed a big problem to forces operating in the region. ARH militants and allied militias were persistent in their attacks, opting to attack from the tops of hills with recoilless rifles or from behind hills with rockets. The lack of air assets hurt KjAVH efforts to take back Adalunovo and Ňorovice (Battle of Postroz-z-Adalunovo), with little to no way to know where enemy troops were hiding or setting up their ambushes. By the end of December 1983, most KjAVH troops were forced back up north, their offensives having lost momentum and their objectives unrealized. This retreat left Ambrazka without any KjAVH troops for almost a half a year, until Operation Punainen Pilvi was began.