Koivuusi Civil War

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Koivuusi Civil War Summary
Date: February 3, 1967 - April 19, 1968
Locations: Koivuusi, Ayansh
Outcome: Breakup of Ayansh Treaty Organization (AYTO) and collapse of the Islamic Republic of Koivuusi. Vrijheid Insurgency defeated and Felixan occupation of Koivuusi begins.
Casualties (approx.)
Military: Approx. 128,000 (Vrijheid) 44,437 (Ayansh Treaty Organization) dead
Civilian: Approx. 300,000 dead
Total: Approx. 472,000 dead
Main Participants
Ayansh Treaty Organization Vrijheid Forces
Islamic Republic of Koivuusi
New Felix
Vetak
Novayzerman





Vrijheid Insurgents








The Koivuusi Civil War was a conflict between the Islamic Republic of Koivuusi and the Communist Vrijheid Insurgents ranging from 1967 to 1968. On February 1, 1967, Vrijheid separatists seized federal military installations and major cities in northern and southern parts of the country in response to the disputed election of 1966. Backing up the Koivuusi government were troops of the Ayansh Treaty Organization, primarily from The Federal Republic of New Felix.

The war caused the collapse of both the Islamic Republic of Koivuusi and the Ayansh Treaty Organization while marking the beginning of Felixan occupation of Koivuusi and the formation of the Colony of Koivuusi. Hostilities officially came to an end on April 19, 1968 when the Vrijheid leadership surrendered to Felixan troops.

Underlying Causes

The most commonly cited causes of the Koivuusi Civil War are increasing racial tensions between Arabs and Caucasians and the rise of Terence Zinda, an oil worker who became a very powerful speaker in the 1950s. Rallying against perceived injustices in the government and worker conditions, Zinda and his followers, whom by 1965 had reached 30,000,000 in number, advocated a communist Koivuusi government.

In the 1966 election, Zinda formed the United Workers Party and sought to create a majority government. However, on December 14, 1966, one night before election day, Zinda was wounded in an assassination attempt that left him paralyzed from the waist down. Although the shooter was never caught, many of Zinda's followers suspected that the government was behind the assassination attempt.

The next day, with Zinda still in critical condition, the United Workers Party seemingly won a majority of the five-hundred seat Koivuusi Parliament, until several thousand votes in key races were declared invalid, allowing the incumbent Koivuusi Federation Party to retain its majority. Several international election observers declared foul play, but on December 30, 1966, the Koviuusi Supreme Court ruled in favor of the government.

The Supreme Court ruling caused an uproar. Zinda, whose condition had stablized, called for a revolution live on national television on January 11, 1967. The next day, mass rioting broke out in fifteen cities. The civilian police were not equipped to handle such rioting and in many cases, they actually joined the rioters. Koivuusi Prime Minister Salim al Buzzard responded by sending in federal troops to quell the rioters, although like the police, the Koivuusi Army was not trained to deal with the rioters. On January 26, federal troops opened fire on rioters in Atticus, killing over three-hundred people. Several smaller skirmishes occurred in other cities, resulting in even more civilian deaths.

On February 2nd, provincial governors loyal to the United Workers Party and Terence Zinda ordered their militias to engage federal troops. Ignoring orders from the federal government to cease and desist, the militias, backed by civilian police forces and armed civilians, droved the army out of several cities in the north. The next day, in both southern and northern Koivuusi, militias seized federal military installations, outposts, offices, and other government property, announcing secession and forming the Vrijheid Republic. They quickly arrested prominent civilians who were loyal to the federal government and placed curfews and suspended civil liberties until further notice.

Prime Minister al Buzzard refused to recognize the Vrijheid Republic. Realizing that his military had been weakened, he invoked the AYTO charter. On February 5th, the AYTO nations of New Felix, Vetak, and Novayzerman announced that they would send troops to assist the Koivuusi government against the communist insurgents.

Initial Strikes

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Koivuusi split into the Islamic Republic of Koivuusi (Blue) and the Vrijheid Republic (red), February 1967
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On February 7th, fighter-bombers from Felixan aircraft carriers launched airstrikes against Vrijheid positions outside major cities in the northern parts of Koivuusi. Vrijheid forces, still engaged in skirmishes with units loyal to the Koivuusi government, received little warning about the strikes and AYTO forces were able to inflict substantial casualties. However, after another three days of successive strikes, Vrijheid forces were finally able to gain control of government radar stations and air bases (the Koivuusi government had wrongly assured the AYTO command that they were in control of these facilities) , allowing them to take up defensive measures. On February 14, Vrijheid fighters managed to strike back at the bombing raids, taking out over fifty AYTO bombers. Due to false intelligence reports and miscommunication between the Koivuusi government and AYTO forces, many fighters that had been comandeered by Vrijheid pilots were still thought to be under government control, creating mass confusion over the Uusian airspace.

Naval Blockade

In response to the successful Vrijheid counterattack against the bombing raids, Felixan President Ian Cavenaugh ordered a naval blockade of Koivuusi and prepared a marine force of 120,000 troops and an army force of 200,000 for a ground invasion of Koivuusi. He also ordered the marines to seize and occupy all offshore oil platforms before they fell into Vrijheid hands.

Despite protests from the Koivuusi government, Felixan bombers destroyed all government naval bases in Vrijheid-occupied zones of the country to prevent rebelious divisions of the Koivuusi military to gain access to submarines and other docked naval craft. Due to the fact that a majority of the Koivuusi Navy was at sea at the time of secession, it was the only branch of the Uusian military that did not have mass amounts of defections.

Ground Campaign (February - July 1967)

On February 17, 1967, 36,000 Felixan Marines landed at Novoselic, becoming the first foreign ground forces to enter Koivuusi. Over the course of the next week, they were joined by over 100,000 AYTO troops, who took defensive positions guarding major cities in the government-controlled zones. An additional 90,000 Felixan Marines were put in position outside Vrijheid territory, ready for a possible ground invasion of the Vrijheid Republic.

Battle of Schreiber

Main article(s): Battle of Schreiber

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Felixan Huey Gunships operating in Koivuusi, February 1967
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On February 27, 15,000 Felixan Marines launched an attack against Schreiber Air Force Base, located just north of Novoselic in the Vrijheid Republic. General Barry Beringer, commander of Felixan forces, saw the captured airbase as a key strategic point for launching a larger invasion of the Northern Vrijheid Republic.

Approximately five-hundred Vrijheid insurgents had occupied the base, taking about fifty Koivuusi personnel hostage. On February 28, the insurgents threatened to start executing hostages if Felixan Marines moved in closer to the base. That night, an aerial incursion using helicopter-gunships and fighters was initiated, but unbeknowst to Felixan Intelligence, the insurgents were armed with handheld Surface to Air Missiles. After destroying three of the incoming transport choppers, Felixan fighter-bombers and attack helicopters began bombing the base and the marines launched a full-scale attack. By the time the marines had taken the base, all the of the insurgents and forty-two of the hostages had been killed, in addition to nearly one-hundred AYTO troops.

Operation Thunderstruck

Main article(s): Operation Thunderstruck

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Heavy fighting breaks out in Sistiani, April 3, 1967
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Following the preliminary ground operations in February and March of 1967, the AYTO high command initiated Operation Thunderstruck, a massive offensive operation that involved taking back every major city under Vrijheid control using intensified air bombings and the insertions of large amount of troops to flush the rebels out of the cities and into the open, where superior numbers would overwhelm them.

The first target was the city of Sistiani. On April 2, using the retaken Schreiber Airbase, bombers began launching strikes agaist known Vrijheid positions in the cities, while large amounts of armor divisions surrounded the city. Air Cavalry units followed then moved in simlutaneously with marines from offshore naval vessels. Felixan troops eventually retook the city in one week, with 3000 military casualties and more than 10,000 civilian deaths.

Similar assaults occured on the cities of Bauer and Atticus at the same time. Felixan troops managed to gain control of both cities, but with approximately 5,000 casualties.

June Offensive

Main article(s): June Offensive

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Felixan F-111 fighters embark on an aerial mission, June 1967
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On May 31, 1967, with AYTO units having retaken several cities in both the North and the South, Vrijheid forces launched their counteroffensive, aiming for the capital of Saku. Using guerilla tactics, they attacked weak spots on the southern Koivuusi-Vrijheid border, inflicting heavy casulties on Koivuusi and Felixan forces with little losses for themselves.

In retaliation, Felixan forces began launching heavy airstrikes against any suspected spot where insurgents were believed hiding, destroying much of the Uusian countryside and several small towns believed where the inhabitants were loyal to the Vrijheid, stirring much controversy in New Felix and Wysteria about the Felixan conduct during the war and what constituted a military threat.

Insurgents, moving mostly by light armored units, came within eighty kilometers of Saku, but were forced to hold as the extremely high bombing rate took out most of their offensive units. In fact, more bombs were dropped from AYTO aircraft in June of 1967 than there were in the rest of the war combined.

Operation Aardvark Claw

Main article(s): Operation Aardvark Claw

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AYTO fighters fly over the burning Liev Desert, July 5, 1967
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In July of 1967, with the war having ranged for nearly half a year, the AYTO high command was anxious for a quick and swift resolution. Their new strategy involved taking the Vrijheid forces into an area they had no combat experience with: The Desert. On July 5, 1967, Koivuusi Marines and Naval forces attacked the city of Liberio, just north of the Liev Desert, while Felixan Desert forces moved up from the North. Rather than simulatenously fighting both armies, the Vrijheid decided to take on the Felixan force, whom, ironically, the Vrijheid thought they would defeat because of New Felix's Arctic location.

Vrijheid Insurgents, using tanks, planes, and APCs from defected Koivuusi Army divisions, ran into and engaged the Felixan force approxmiately one-hundred kilometers south of Liberio. The result was devestating for the Vrijheid. Felixan fighters easily retained air superiority over the battle-field, which proved decisive in determining the winner. When the dust had settled, over 17,000 Vrijheid troops were dead, compared to only 2500 Felixan soldiers. The remaining Vrijheid units retreated towards Liberio, but by then, Koivuusi Marines had retaken the city. Approximately 19,000 Vrijheid Insurgents surrendered to AYTO in less than twenty-four hours.

Nuclear Standoff

Main article(s): July Crisis

Three days after Operation Aardvark Claw, Vrijheid spies operating within government controlled territory launched an assault against a Weapons Research Facility outside of Saku. During the raid, they captured two low yield tactical nuclear warheads, which were part of the then top secret Koivuusi weapons program, so top secret that in fact, AYTO forces did not even know Koivuusi had a nuclear program until after the incident. Koivuusi Federal Troops immediately set up a fifty kilometer quarantine around the Weapons Research Facility, but it was too late.

Two days later, on July 10, a videotape surfaced showing Terence Zinda and several other high-level Vrijhied members standing in the presence of the two nuclear weapons. Zinda spoke to the camera, demanding a complete AYTO withdrawal from Koivuusi. Although he never explicitly stated that he would actually use the weapons, most people took it as an implied threat.

Felixan President Ian Cavenaugh and Koivuusi Prime Minister Salim al Buzzard refused to acknowledge Zinda's demands. A day later, Cavenaugh issued a startling ultimatium addressed directly to Zinda. Cavenaugh stated that he would authorize the use of nuclear weapons against Vrijheid targets if Zinda didn't return the two stolen warheads within two days. To prove that he wasn't bluffing, Cavenaugh ordered Felixan strategic missile bases to upgrade to DEFCON 2.

Wysteria then held its breath, with all eyes watching Zinda and Cavenaugh, with hope that one of them would blink before it was too late. Mass panic started to break out in both Vrijheid and government-controlled cities and all major ground offensives were suspended. With four hours left until the deadline to give up the stolen warheads, a radio message was sent to the AYTO High Command giving them explicit instructions on the location of the two warheads. Large amounts of Felixan troops raided the location, a warehouse in Bauer, and found the warheads completely intact. Apparently, Zinda had blinked first.

Later released documents and audio tapes of the July Crisis proved that Cavenaugh had never intended to use nuclear weapons against Vrijheid targets, and was in fact considering a rapid withdrawal of AYTO troops from Koivuusi after the weapons were discovered to have been stolen. Nevertheless, the July Crisis showcased a never before seen aura of paranoia and fear for the first time in the Koivuusi Civil War.

Covert Escalation

Main article(s): Operation Summer Dove

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The aftermath of Zbrigev Nadshek's assassination by a car bomb
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Following the July Crisis, New Felix Intelligence decided that the best way to win the war was to kill off the Vrijheid leaders, thereby eliminating support for the communist movement. A top secret operation, entitled Summer Dove, authorizing New Felix Intelligence to use terrorist tactics such as assassinations and car bombs to eliminate the Vrijheid leaders was approved by President Cavenaugh in late July 1967.

The Operation ranged for two months and targeted twenty-seven Vrijheid officials. For this duration, Felixan ground operations were put on halt and troops took merely defensive positions while the aerial bombings continued and intensified.

The first target was Vrijheid General Zbrigiv Nadshek, who was killed by a car bomb on August 2. The next day, Alexei Markov, thought to be Terence Zinda's right hand man, was assassinated by snipers. Over the next week, successful operations managed to take out an additional four Vrijheid officials.

The Vrijheid quickly caught on. Zinda and other top Vrijheid officials went in hiding, but Felixan Agents managed to track down and kill an additional eleven of them and wound four. However, the rest of the top Vrijheid officials remained elusive. When the Felixan agents couldn't assassinate them, they began using terrorist tactics on Vrijheid soldiers and outposts. Over the course of September, approximately 400 Vrijheid troops were killed and nine Vrijheid outposts were destroyed. Sixteen Felixan Agents lost their lives in the operation.

Ultimately, Operation Summer Dove was cancelled in October due to its failure to kill Terence Zinda and the remaining Vrijheid officials. Also, its lack of success in weakening the Vrijheid resolve made the AYTO High Command go with a more militaristic approach to the war.

Resumption

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Koivuusi split into the Islamic Republic of Koivuusi (Blue) and the Vrijheid Republic (red), December 1967
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After the failed assassination attempts on the Vrijheid leadership, the AYTO High Command went with the brute-force victory strategy and aimed to take every Vrijheid occupied city, force them out into the open, and eliminate them with heavy air support.

The first AYTO targets were the cities of Almaeda and Yashin. Vrijheid insurgents within the city fortified themselves using the urban terrain and thousands of civilian refugees attempting to evacuate. When AYTO Marines launched an invasion of both cities, the Vrijheid hit them hard. AYTO attempted to retaliate by using airstrikes, but couldn't differentiate between civilians and insurgents, forcing the ground troops to unilaterally take two cities, something that had never been done before. The Vrijheid used guerilla tactics against the marines and began using the civilians as cover. Insurgents began dressing up as civilians and opening fire on marines, whom, like their aerial counterparts, could not differentiate between civilian and insurgent.

As they progressed further into both cities and their respective suburbs, AYTO soldiers began to detain all civilians and put them in refugee camps in already taken zones of the cities. However, these camps were insufficient to house the needs of thousands of civilians, and they began revolting against AYTO marines. For several weeks, anarchy ran threw the cities, as AYTO soldiers struggled to fight Vrijheid and contain the unrest.

After approximately a month of intense fighting, AYTO troops had taken both cities, primarily due to the Vrijheid's dwindling supplies. However, within this October-November period, over 40,000 civilians were killed in additon to 7500 AYTO troops.