Revision as of 09:55, 11 September 2007

The Scirenian Theatre, also known as the Western Theatre, was the most important theatre of operations in the Farminan-Messian War. The Scirenian Theatre is widely regarded as where the Democratic Republic of Farmina gained a decisive advantage over the already struggling Snyder Directorate of the Militia Enforced State.

The Scirenian campaign began with the formation of a Farminan beachhead in Scirenia. The fighting was concentrated in two large battles in a major city near the beachhead, Sciren. In the Second Battle of Sciren, the Directorate lost its main force in the Western Theatre, destroying any rational belief in a Messian victory. Hopes for a draw evaporated quickly at the Farminans exploited their advantage and marched north-east towards the Messian capital, Angelas-Francisco, meeting little opposition. The campaigned ended when the Snyder Directorate called for a ceasefire with Farminan forces on the outskirts of Angelas-Francisco.

Invasion of Scirenia

Concurrent with the invasion of Trinity, Field Marshal Graham Salamander landed six marine divisions on the west coast of the MES, in an area historically known as Scirenia. They moved foward against mild resistance with naval support as artillery. Tank and infantry divisions landed soon after to support the attempts to secure a sustainable landing ground. After a day of fighting Messian forces were pushed significantly far from the coastline that full scale reinforcement could begin. Fighting died off as both sides consilidated their positions.

First Battle of Sciren

After securing a beachhead, Field Marshal Graham Salamander moved quickly to extend his foothold. One week after the initial landings, despite orders to await reinforcements, the Field Marshal launched a major offensive against the nearby city of Sciren, in an attempt to make gains using the element of surprise.

The attack took place on the fifth day of after the landing, at nine in the morning. The drive on Sciren was opened with an artillery bombardment, followed by a concentrated tank thrust along the northern flank of the city, in an attempt to secure the northern roads into the city. Although Messian efforts in the theatre were concentrated around Sciren, they were outnumbered by the Farminan thrust.

Farminan infantry attacked into the city itself, successfully diverting Messian units from the attack against the north road. Farmina also exploited its massive advantage in artillery and brought the field guns as far forward as possible to smash the Messian supply lines. The Farminan armoured columns pierced the Messian line in two points north of the city after fighting through dense shrub. After the Messian line defending the Falcon-Sciren road broke, the Farminan armoured columns only intensified their assault with the intention of destroying the retreating Messian forces before they could regroup. Messian forces were pulled out of the city and the southern flank to try and repair the situation. Much of the northern flank forces were saved and the Farminan advance was halted just past the Sciren-Francisco road.

After a day of intense fighting, the Farminan armour had smashed most of the defenders on the northern flank advancing to the Sciren-Francisco road and bringing artillery well within range of Dylaria-Sciren road, while the Farmina infantry had driven the Messians out of the majority of the city. Despite major gains, the Farminans endured higher military causalities, mainly from in its attempt to advance through the urban areas.

A ceasefire was called by Field Marshal Salamander and the highest surviving commander of Sciren’s defences Colonel Ryan Anderson. The two later secretly met to discuss a surrender.

Second Battle of Sciren

In the most decisive battle of the war, Farmina accomplished a massive victory over a major Messian army group. It is regarded as Farmina's greatest military triumph and a matter of great shame in the Militia Enforced State.

Director Hamilton's Attack

After hearing of the growing Farminan presence in Sciren, Supreme Director Snyder decided to move decisively. Snyder’s deputy and head of Western Theatre Operations, Executive Director Reagan Hamilton was to form the ultimate Messian battle group to recapture Sciren and then turn on the Farminan beachhead.

Troops from all over the country had already been moved to the Western Theatre in the expectation that fighting would heat up. Reagan Hamilton collected nearly all of the elite Messian military units, except the Snyder Guard, including the latest Messian heavy tanks. This would form the heart of his attack force. To bolster his attack further, Reagan Hamilton stripped forces from less active parts of the Western Theatre.

Reagan Hamilton’s force moved against Sciren from three different directions. The smallest prong was launched from the Scirenia Forest, north of Sciren. This attack was centred around the Falcon-Sciren road which had already been heavily damaged in fighting. The second prong was far stronger and came along the relatively undamaged Dylaria-Sciren road. The strongest prong came down the Sciren-Francisco road. This saw Messian forces approaching Sciren from the north, north-east and east.

Farminan forces were initially shocked by the scale and ferocity of the attack, abandoning the Sciren-Francisco road, then after several hours the Falcon-Sciren road.

Director Hamilton’s advance on the city was not without problems. Clearing the Falcon-Sciren road took longer than anticipated. More troublesome was the clear Farminan advantage in long range bombardment. Artillery hammered all the advancing Messian armies, causing many casualties and equipment damage. Additionally the destruction was concentrated around the three major roadways into Sciren, limiting Hamilton’s access to reinforcements and resupply as well as slowing his advance.

Once the bulk of the battle group was inside the city, Hamilton assumed control of the parts of Colonel Ryan Anderson’s force that not surrendered to the Farminans. Unknown to Hamilton, Anderson had agreed to switch allegiances and forced Messians loyal to the Directorate to surrender.

With the bulk of the Messian forces passed, Farminans on the northern flank of the city launched a series of small localised counterattacks. This recaptured much of the Falcon-Sciren road. Hamilton dispatched enough forces to halt the front, but did not reinforce the flank strongly enough to recapture the Falcon-Sciren road. Additionally, Hamilton reinforced positions on the southern flank to prevent a Farminan counter attack there.

Instead, Hamilton ordered a massive thrust towards deep into Sciren. The advance progressed well, although at great expense to both sides. To augment his force, Hamilton pulled a handful of troops off the silent flanks. The attack continued for two days advancing block by block. Once the Farminans were forced to the city center, they retreated further. This allowed the Messians to capture the heart of Sciren in one piece without a fight.

Field Marshal Salamander's Counter-Attack

With the Hamilton’s force deep within Sciren, Ryan Anderson’s force of turn coat Messians revealed their true colours and attacked Hamiton’s force. In addition, a large number of small-scale Farminan counter attacks were implemented at the same time. These stretched Hamilton’s already heavily worn from the expensive advance force further.

It was at this moment of distraction that Field Marshal Salamander launched his audacious counter attack. Salamander’s attacked was concentrated against Hamilton’s force on the south-eastern flank of Sciren. The main Messian force was too distant and too busy to render effective assistance.

Salamander’s attack opened with a massive artillery barrage, followed closely by armoured columns and mobile infantry. The Messian line quickly collapsed and several units were sacrificed to protect their retreating comrades. This did not halt the Farminan advance for long. Retreating Messian units frequently found themselves under either aerial or armoured attack before they could regroup. Farminan forces reached the Dylaria-Sciren road in under six hours, meaning Farminan troops were on the eastern side of Sciren. The situation was made worse by Reagan Hamilton recalling the few survivors of the disaster on the southern flank into the city to help consolidate his tenuous grip on the situation.

Salamander pressed home his advantage, bringing his assault force north to cut the Sciren-Francisco road. In addition the northern Farminan flank began a drive east to join up with Salamander’s main attack force. The defence of the Sciren-Francisco road quickly collapsed and Hamilton also summoned many of the survivors to him, while others pulled back north-east to MESB Fargo.

Reagan Hamilton’s elite assault force was now encircled and facing heavy casualties. He planned to continue small scale offensive operations, to delay the Farminans while forces outside Sciren were organised to break Hamilton out of Salamander’s ring. The break out attempt never came.

Field Marshal Salamander’s ability to trap Hamilton inside Sciren is due to three main factors: 1) Hamilton’s overemphasis of the center and neglect of his flanks, 2) Salamander’s aggressive style, 3) Superior Farminan numbers, allowing Farminan forces to do multiple things at once. Point 3 is generally considered the most important.

Destruction of the Messian Battlegroup

Major fighting ceased for a day while both sides regrouped. The encirclement of the Messian battlegroup proved a strategic problem for both sides. For Snyder, it crippled the heart of his military, which was already stretched to breaking point. For the Farminans the problem was that the size of the force required to hold Hamilton's battle group in position was large enough to tie up large numbers of Farminan troops around Sciren rather than implementing Salamander's aggressive plans to attack deep into MES.

The problem had however been partially anticipated by Farmina's high command, which ordered the laying of remotely controlled explosives in the heart of Sciren. Salamander decided this would not be enough. On the final morning of the battle, Salamander ordered large counter attacks all around Sciren to force the Messian forces into the Sciren's CBD. Although these attacks were only partially successful, Salamander still gave the order to destroy Sciren's CBD. At noon a series of large explosions occurred. Nearly every skycraper in Sciren fell on the heart of Hamilton's battlegroup. Hamilton himself was killed when impaled by a structural support. Much of Hamilton's command was also killed. Casualties in terms of Messian manpower and equipment loss were massive. It also posed a massive mobility problem for the cut off Messian battle group.

Field Marshal Salamander demanded the battlegroup's surrender or face continued offensive action. With supply lines cut, without effective leadership and casualties very high, much of the battlegroup did surrender. Fighting recommenced for the rest of the day. By sunset, the overwhelming majority of the Messian battlegroup had surrendered and a significant proportion had been destroyed. Small scale fighting continued in Sciren for the rest of the war as survivors from the battlegroup continued to resist the Farmina presence.

Nonetheless, that day was considered the last day of the Second Battle of Sciren. Snyder's main force in the Western Theatre was destroyed and his most loyal henchman killed, leaving the Directorate with an unrecoverable situation. This is widely regarded as the moment of Messian defeat in the war. Continued fighting is often percieved as a determination of terms rather than a hunt for a victor.

Drive on Angelas-Francisco

Although small scale fighting continued in the ruins of Sciren, Field Marshal Salamander turned the bulk of his forces towards Angelas-Francisco with the intention of advancing directly along what remained of the major roads between the two cities, sweeping aside the Directorate forces that remained in the theatre.

The new Executive Director and head of Western Theatre Military Operations, Timothy Reis, pulled together all remaining Messian forces in the Scirenian theatre to try and slow the anticipated Farminan advance north-east to the largely rebel held Angelas-Francisco. Simultaneously, Reis launched a renewed crackdown on rebels in Angelas-Francico, which had been left to fester while resources were poured into the Sciren disaster. To further bolster Western Theatre and protect the road to Angelas-Francisco, more troops were pulled off inactive fronts leaving only skeleton forces behind. This decision was firmed by the fact that the Farminan drive on Angelas-Francisco would leave it few forces to attack elsewhere.

The resistance along the highways was fierce. The Messians launched a series of small and moderate scale battles to absorb Farminan resources, supported by guerrilla tactics. Despite its valient efforts, the Directorate was overwhelmed by what was now a massive strength disparity. Attempts to damage roads and destroy bridges also had only minimal impact on the unstoppable Farminan advance. Messian morale and supplies were failing and many Directorate troops were surrendering before the advancing Farminan forces.

After delaying the Farminan advance by a week and half, Farminan artillery came in range of the Angelas-Francisco. Although the pro-Force Commander rebels had taken a severe beating and the pro-democracy rebels had been practically exterminated, several rebel holdouts still remained within Angelas-Francisco, awaiting Farminan reinforcement. Anticipating the Farminan entry into the city, Director Reis prepared nearly all his remaining forces for a last ditch urban house to house fighting in the south western part of the city. This 'final' battle never occurred. Instead, Director Snyder agreed to negotiate on President Grey's terms.

Battle of Sciren Ridge

After Reagan Hamilton and his battlegroup were sealed in Sciren, newly appointed Exectutive Director Reis began pouring resources into garrisoning Sciren Ridge, north-east of Sciren. This was for two reasons. Firstly, Sciren Ridge was the most logical site from which to launch any attack at the Farminan ring around Sciren. Secondly, Sciren Ridge was a natural geographic feature to halt any Farminan thrust north-east out of Sciren.

When Sciren fell to Farmina, Director Reis gave the order to prepare for an immediate Farminan onslaught against the established position. His forecast was correct. The next day a sixty minute air and artillery bombardment began against the ridge. Air units also delivered the elite 1st Paratroop Division behind Messian lines. The paratroopers immediately began wreaking havoc on Messian supplies and reinforcements.

Once this phase was over, the Farminan advance began for real. A series of armoured columns, supported by infantry, rolled against the south-eastern wing of the ridge. The imbedded paratroopers, artillery and airpower worked to prevent the threatened wing from being bolstered. The undermanned Messian line quickly collapsed along the south-eastern half of the line under the weight of superior Farminan firepower and manpower. Only in turns of airpower, was the Militia Enforced State holding its own.

Recalling the mistakes made by Reagan Hamilton in the Second Battle of Sciren, Reis' Generals ordered a rear guard action to protect the withdrawing south-eastern flank. Although this cost the rear-guard itself, most of the remainder of the force was saved.

Timothy Reis did not withdraw from the north-western part of Sciren Ridge immediately. Although his forces were now vulnerable from being attacked from the south-east, the Farminans could not bypass his force without risking being attacked from the rear.

On the second day, the Farminans attacked north-west along the ridge, but this was anticipated by the Reis. The Farminans panic amongst heavy casualties and withdrew only making the situation worse. The Messians counterattacked, compounding the Farminan blunder.

With numbers on their side, the Farminans quickly regrouped. Salamander ordered an attack from the south-east, as well as attacks towards the ridge from both the south-west and the north-east. The Messians were surprised by the quick Farminan recovery and didn't have the numbers to resist multiple thrusts. The Messian units holding the line disintegrated completely. Surviving Messians attempted to slip north under the cover of darkness in a disorganised rabble. Thousands were captured or killed as they passed through Farminan positions.

The collapse of the defensive positions along Sciren Ridge marked the beginning of Director Reis' bloody and rapid retreat to the capital.

Battle of MESB Fargo

One of the largest battles on the drive to Angelas-Francisco came three days into the advance towards Angelas-Francisco, when the Messians managed to regroup and make a determined stand at the MESB Fargo fortress compound, slowing the Farminan advance for a day.

The Farminan forces made several determined assaults against and around the fortress, throughout the day. Stubborn Messian resistance meant the attacks met little success. Nonetheless, each attack further wore down the tired and limited Messian defenders and forced them further into the compound. The Farminan attacks halted around midnight. The severely beaten Messian defenders took this chance withdraw secretly from the complex, covering their retreat with a string of counter attacks about daybreak.

After the battle, Field Marshal Salamander had his photo taken in front of the compound ruins. He stood next to a signpost pointing forward to Angelas-Francisco and backwards towards Sciren. This would become one of the most famous photographs of the war.