Saulius Cebelis
Saulius Cebelis | |
|---|---|
 Saulis in 1975 | |
| Born | 12 April 1925 Salhar, Kolodoria |
| Died | 14 August 2003 (aged 78) Strana Mechty, Kolodoria |
| Allegiance |  Kolodoria |
| Service/ | Kolodorian People's Defense Forces |
| Years of service | 1961-1989 |
| Rank | Marshal |
| Unit | Third Army Group |
| Battles/wars | Vinyan War Vyzhvan-Kolodorian War |
| Awards | see below |
Saulis Cebelis was a Kolodorian military officer who served in the Kolodorian People's Defense Forces during the Vinyan War and the Vyzhvan-Kolodorian War. He is best known for comamnding Third Army Group during Operation Copperhead, the Kolodorian invasion of Tír an Crainn.
Cebelis was born to factory workers in Salhar and was due to be conscripted by the Royal Confederate Army during the Northern War, but the conflict ended before he was called up. Cebelis was comissioned as an officer in the KPDF in 1961 and spent most of his early career stationed on the border with Vyzhva. He was promoted to Colonel and given a regimental command in 1972, before being promoted to a brigadier general in 1974. Following the outbreak of the Vinyan War Cebelis was again promoted to Major General and given command of the 7th Mechanized Infantry Division. Following Kolodorian reversals in 1975-1976, Cebelis was recalled to Salhar and given command of the recently formed Third Army Group, tasked to launch a diversionary invasion of Tír an Crainn. Operation Copperhead was launched in the summer of 1976 and proved succesful in swinging momentum back towards Kolodoria. Third Army Group drove south through Tír an Crainn before being halted at the Battle of Barlow Gap, after which Cebelis ordered a limited withdrawal back north. The Crainnic Front would remain in a flux until 1977, at which the fighting stalemated into a defensive, attrition based campaign.
Saulis was promoted to Colonel General following the end of the Vinyan War and placed in command of Kolodoria's Western Military District between 1981-1985. He was later given command of First Army Group during the war with Vyzhva. He retired in 1989 and passed away in 2003.
Saulis was considered an aggressive commander by his peers and opponents who often favored rapid maneuvers and action over slow and steady operations. His decision to push Third Army Group as far south as possible in Operation Copperhead, which strained Kolodorian logistics and lines of communication, is often considered to have contributed to their subsequent defeat at Barlow Gap. His subsequent leadership during the Crainnic campaign has been the subject of criticism, but some historians have argued otherwise. Hallian author Jalmar Hannula argued that Cebelis, whom spent most of his career training to fight on the flat steppes of Vyzhva, acclimated well to the mountain warfare of Tír an Crainn despite his lack of experience fighting in rugged terrain.