Rogue War

The Rogue War was a large and total war that ended abruptly with the unconditional surrender of a large portion of the Armed Forces of the Leyendo Confederation. The Rogue Alliance, led by Karchozia and Jaghur, totally defeated the dissident splinter group Rogue Union, which was led by Wandering Companies. Most of the fighting comprised of the ground invasion of the Leyendo Confederation (Wandering Companies, Read lots, and Kill lots). The cleanup of the aftermath of the war is still a matter of contention between Rogue Alliance and the defeated nations of the Leyendo Confederation.

Background

Pre-Conflict Rogue Alliance

For unclear reasons, the leadership of Wandering Companies withdrew its support from Karchozia as UN Delegate of the alliance in February 2006. Later Karchozian theories include anger towards UN decisions that had been heavily favoured by Karchozia. Power soon passed to Romandeos, which was uncooperative with Wandering Companies. The Karchozian government saw Wandering Companies's action as a political coup and reacted by withdrawing its own endorsement from Romandeos. Karchozia regained its position as UN Delegate by late March.

Formation of Rogue Union

Wandering Companies's explanation of the entire affair was deemed incomprehensible and insufficient by Karchozia. As a result, it was promptly expelled from Rogue Alliance in April. Wandering Companies's leadership then formed the Rogue Union, a rival alliance and a slap towards Karchozian hegemony. Japaneee, Derek World 2, and Xentor were convinced into joining the fledging alliance. The momentum of admission grew, as Brasgada and Lorwegia soon joined Rogue Union as well. Though Derek World 2 and Japanee left Rogue Union after approximately a month due to domestic unrest, Gemetar and TotallyNotAPuppet were to join to counter this. On 12 May 2006, Karchozia expelled Read lots and Kill lots from Rogue Alliance, whom defected to Rogue Union.

Trade Alliance's Role

Trade Alliance, led by Jaghur, signed a military alliance with Rogue Alliance on 05 May 2006. This was soon followed by Trade Alliance's admission into the Rogue Alliance exactly one week afterwards, making the previous treaty superfluous. This tactic was to counter Rogue Union's alarming growth. The Trade Alliance's powerful economies and militaries would prove to be useful assets for Rogue Alliance.

Karchozian Ultimatum (17 May 2006)

The Karchozian government issued an extremely prohibitive ultimatum to Wandering Companies on 17 May 2006.

1.The government of Wandering Companies must allow Alliance advisers to oversee their government activies, as well as their military activities. This will bring peace of mind to the citizens and politicians in the Rogue Alliance that no ill-deeds are being conceived against the Alliance within the political or military organizations.

A. To further dispel any military danger posed by Wandering Companies, they must disarm all branches of their military service, which includes: the Army, Navy, and Air Force. It also includes any classified military groups.

1. However, the police forces and political bodyguard units are allowed to remain active and at their current operational levels.

2. A Coast Guard is permitted for basic naval border security, along with a small Port Security Force, composed of the current police units and civilian volunteers.

3. Select parts of the Air Force will be allowed to remain active, pending Alliance advisor approval, to supply adequate air coverage of key civilian populations.

B. The Armed Forces (Army) will only be allowed to have 50,000 active personnel. This includes command, intelligence, medical and fighting personnel. Only a 25,000 personnel limit is permitted on the Reserves service branch.

C.The armaments allowed to be utilized by the W.C. government will be strictly monitored. All nuclear warheads will be dismantled, and combat weaponry will be carefully examined. If necessary, the W.C. will pay for all replacement troop weapons if they are needed.

Failure to abide to this ultimatum, or offer an agreeable alternative, will result in military action by the Karchozian Army and the powers at the disposal of the Rogue Alliance. If an answer is not received in 14 days, then the military action will take place.

Wandering Companies failed to respond, and Rogue Alliance declared war on Rogue Union on 31 May 2006.

The War

Naval and Air Skirmishes

Jaghurian Excursions (June 2006)

The war began as a series of sporadic offensives/reconnaissance missions on part of Jaghur's well-developed Air Force, which was immediately followed by Karchozian expeditions on Rogue Union soil, events known as the Jaghurian Excursions and the Karchozian Offensive, respectively. The Rogue Alliance's initial intelligence stated that the Rogue Union landmass was essentially a large island entirely surrounded by cliffs. It became obvious later that the data had been tampered with after Lieutenant Paul Banskosi (Call Sign: "Thief", 27th Wing, 4th Division) and his reconnaissance squadron spotted "Victory", an unprotected 4.3 mile long beach in the northwest corner of Kill Lots. This beach later provided the base of operations for the ground forces of Jaghur and Karchozia. After the reconnaissance missions had gathered all viable data, the Jaghurian Air Force, supported by its subsidiary, the Naval Air Force, began bombing raids on major arms factories within Kill Lots, Read Lots, and Wandering Companies. The raids were of considerable success, and slowed arms production of the three Rogue Union belligerents. However, this was not without cost.

An irate Rogue Union soon launched counter-attacks involving their interceptor jets as well as multiple SAM batteries. A fair amount of planes were downed by this deadly combination. But soon afterwards, the Jaghurian Air Force launched their almost brand-new stealth fighter, the JF-19 "Shark", which is considered by many experts to be one of, if not the best stealth plane in the world today. It wreaked untold destruction upon the Rogue Union interceptors, and all but destroyed the numerous SAM batteries.

The Jaghurian Excursions culminated in:

First Battle of "El Librario"

Captain Joe Greyson (Call Sign: "Lightning", 1st Wing, 1st Division) led the 1st, the 18th, and the 27th Wing (each wing contained 20 heavily-armed JF-19 "Sharks") on a patrolling mission approximately 9.3 kilometres away from the capital of Read Lots, El Librario, at approximately 0700 hours. The Jaghurian force was attacked by 120 (although some debate the actual number was 110) Rogue Union interceptors. Six "Sharks" were immediately downed: one from the 1st Wing, three from the 18th Wing, and two from the 27th Wing.

Despite the initial shock, the remaining 54 "Sharks" flew into the clouds in all directions in an attempt to confuse and separate the Rogue Union pilots. It worked perfectly, as the Rogue Union pilots soon lost track of the Jaghurian pilots. In the astonishing counterattack, the small force soon shot down an unprecedented 63 planes.

The dismayed Rogue Union fighter pilots soon dropped into retreat, but not without another blow to their ranks. The Jaghurian pilots managed to drop 30 more Rogue Union planes before they were fully out of range, leaving only 27 Rogue Union interceptors out of an original 120.

As a result, Rogue Alliance morale was lifted to heights previously unattainable, and the Jaghurian Air Force gained pride, fame, and an excellent reputation. To what most attribute to their demoralizing and costly loss, the Rogue Union did not take to the air again until late August 2006.

Nevertheless, the Jaghurian Air Force Marshal, Howard Vendroski, was heavily criticised by his peers for recklessly sending sixty valuable stealth planes over enemy-held territory. The risk was uncalculably enormous, they said, but luckily for the Jaghurian Air Force, the Leyendo interceptors were defeated. The Rogue Union, however, was able to reverse-engineer portions of the JF-19 from partially-destroyed aircraft. These components were combined with indigenous designs to produce a potent fighter. However, few examples could be fielded before the collapse of the Rogue Union war effort.

Note: Later reports confirmed that the orders to patrol the Rogue Union territory were misplaced by an assistant to Marshal Vendroski, and consequently sent to the wrong division.

Karchozian Offensive (June-August 2006)

Karchozian air and some naval units were already in place by the time of the declaration of war. Upon this, a well-coordinated strike force captured numerous eastern beachheads. Rogue Union attempts to defend the coasts were frustrated by air strikes and shelling, though most of the Karchozian Navy was away attacking Xentor and Gemetar. After the stagnation of the Karchozian offensive, the navy and air force were relegated to bringing supplies to active ground troops after the conquest of Kill Lots and remained thus so for the rest of the war.

Colonial Proxy Battles

While the main battlefront occured on the soil of the three main Leyendo Confederation members, two important campaigns were undertaken by the Rogue Alliance to defeat the auxiliary nations of the Rogue Union.

Xentor Campaign (June-July 2006)

In comparison to Read Lots, the tiny island nations of Xentor and Gemetar were remarkebly small. However, they were also heavily fortified and ready to take on any amphibious or aerial landing. It was decided that Jaghur and Karchozia would each assualt a different island simultaneously, and thus, preparations for the campaign began.

The Karchozian forces were assigned to attack Xentor, and the command of the assualt was given to General Josef Rimuvonich. General Rimuvonich was aided by Rear Admiral Olaf Trivesky, who would be leading the naval forces for the landing. Upon inspection of the coastal defenses, it was determined that their was a weaker force on the south-western coast of Xentor; a mere 150 km from the capitol city of Nivok. To aid in the naval landing, a diversionary attack would be carried out by members of the Karchozian Special Forces on the opposite side of Xentor. The attack, planned for 03 June, was assigned the codename "Asteroid".

The planned land campaign was fairly simple: Naval forces would deposit the troops, who would establish a rapid beach head and push towards the capitol in a basic pincer formation. 50,000 troops were allotted for the initial landing, with another 15,000 in quick reserve. 2,000 landing craft would ferry the Karchozian troops to their destination, underneath the blanketing fire of 11 battleships. Total support craft numbered well over 400.

At 0400 on 03 June, Operation Asteroid began. The Special Forces units detonated pre-placed C4 along the northern coast, and staged a fake attack on the command HQ that was in charge of that sector. The battleships and landing craft were quickly put within range of the southern coast and initiated the actual operation. The opening salvo from the 16-inch guns managed to damage a few key defensive positions on the coastline. The landing craft, due to a high tide, bypassed many of the underwater obstacles. However, by the end of the day, 27 landing craft had been destroyed due to artillery fire or mines. The first assualt wave of 27,000 disembarked on the beach at 0437. The landing was remarkebly bloodless, despite the amount of defenses that had been erected. The time of the operation aided the soldiers greatly, as the defenders were at their most tired state. A coherent beachead ten miles wide and four miles deep was officially established at 0613. The remaining 23,000 men finished unloading onto the beach, and, with the aid of mechanized units, began pushing towards Nivok.

Resistance was encountered sporadically, with armed Xentorian forces in bunkered positions. These defenses were generally ignored, with a small detachment of men from the main group being assigned to deal with each one of them. The priority goal was the capture of Nivok, and the forces were not going to be hindered by any distractions. After three days brisk march, the pincer started closing on the capitol. However, the Xentorian forces had mobilized an effective defense and were waiting for the Karchozian troops to arrive. With the assualt stalled on the outskirts of the city, the Karchozian's set up defensive structures and prepared for a siege of the city. They encircled almost the entirety of Nivok and proceeded to take potshots with their artillery and call in the occasional air strike.

The Xentorian capital of Nivok under Karchozian bombardment.

Counter-attacks occurred with a high amount of regularity, as the Xentorian units not captured in the city made attempts to break through to reach the besieged troops. Some of these attacks came close to success, but all of them ended up in failure with heavy losses to both sides. After a thirty-five day siege, with help from the outside extinguished, the Xentor government surrendered to General Josef Rimuvonich on 11 July, 2006. Both sides suffered terrible casualties, but the repeated counter-attacks from the Xentorian military caused far greater loss of life on their side than on the Karchozian troops.

Fall of Gemetar (June-July 2006)

While Karchozian forces hammered away at Xentor, Jaghurian commanders debated the best course of action for the taking of Gemetar. On 09 June, six days after the Karchozian landings on Xentorian soil, a course of action was decided. As the Air Force was occupied with bombing raids on the Leyendo Front, it would involve only the Navy, the Army, and three four-man Special Forces' squads.

Roughly circular, Gemetar's capital Taval was located near the center. A wide, deep river, also known as Taval, ran south from the capital to its mouth at the Mardion Sea; during the war, the mouth was heavily fortified. It was at this place where the primary offensive was staged. The operation, codenamed "Chaos", was relatively simple. At 0300 hours on 09 June, the three Special Forces' squads, CV-001, CV-002, and CV-003, infiltrated the Gemetarian base. 001, 002, and 003, were to plant explosive devices at the communications station, the command headquarters, and the central fuel depot, and detonate the charges at 0330. Although successful in planting the devices, a member of CV-003 tripped an alarm, creating a panic in the base. In an attempt to create further confusion and escape, the squads detonated the charges at the depot, creating a massive explosion. In the ensuing chaos, CV-001 and CV-002 managed to escape, but the members of CV-003 were captured by guards hastening from the main gate and were summarily shot. As a result of the failure to detonate the communications station and command headquarters, the other divisions of the Gemetarian were informed of the impending attack by the Jaghurian forces.

By 1300 hours the same day, the Navy moved to within sight of the mouth of the Taval river. They were surprised by several Gemetarian battleships waiting there, and a short naval battle commenced. The Jaghurian navy lost two battleships and a destroyer; all Gemetarian ships were sunk.

TotallyNotAPuppet Overrun (June 2006)

The Leyendo Front

Karchozian Landings (June-July 2006)

Upon the declaration of war, Karchozian units already in place near the islands seized the east coast of the Leyendo Confederation by amphibious landing. Rogue Union forces quickly arrived to the defence of the area, their alacrity surprising the Rogue Alliance landing force. Though Karchozian forces had made excellent headway in controlling the coastal areas, they were unable to capitalize on their position due to formidable Leyendo positions and defenses. As much of the Karchozian Navy was occupied shelling the Rogue Union colonies, the Royal Ground Forces managed to set up secure defensive positions to buffer against Rogue Union attacks. Energetic NSR officers, believing this to be both strategically and tactically unsound, spearheaded an attack with the volunteer 8th Guards Division, surrounding a powerful Rogue Union fortress on two sides on 18 June. Casualties on both sides were relatively light, with the Rogue Alliance suffering slightly more.

A Jaghurian air unit failed to pinpoint the local Leyendo headquarters due to the heavy jungle, but the Rogue Union continued to resupply their garrison. Whilst the fighting on land continued, the Karchozian and Jaghurian naval forces arrived by early July and shelled the Rogue Union positions with great accuracy. Realizing that the losses would be enormous in trying to defend the area, the Leyendo forces blew up their own fortress and retreated with light casualties. The Rogue Alliance forces quickly occupied the area. Finally, the Karchozian offensive was beginning to make headway by 17 July, with Kill Lots eventually conquered. This would be halted and slightly reversed in early August, however.

Stalemate (August 2006)

With the loss of Kill Lots, Leyendo units were in a precarious position. Although the military district of the Leyendo Confederation was mostly lost, the remaining Rogue Union units regrouped. While the formidable Leyendo economy hopped onto a war footing, Karchozian forces became overextended as many units became relegated to policing conquered areas against civilian insurrection. The Leyendo Confederation undertook the task of making a limited offensive against the Rogue Alliance.

Karchozian units had been unable to consolidate their conquests due to the forbidding nature of the Leyendo Confederation's jungle. Additionally, the capture of a strategically important area west of the large Segura River became a logistical nightmare for the Karchozian forces. Beginning on 02 August, units began making light forays against the Karchozian line in different areas and at different times so the Rogue Alliance forces could not focus their strength. On 06 August, the arrival of reserve troops from the conquered colonies allowed the Karchozian units to mount an attack on the centre of the Rogue Union line. The line essentially melted under the force of the Rogue Alliance attack, with the routed Leyendo units fleeing.

It wasn't so, for the Rogue Alliance had played into the hands of the Rogue Union. The Leyendo army quickly enacted a classic case of the pincer movement and threatened to surround the attacking force. A Karchozian regiment was essentially destroyed, with half of its strength captured or dead. Rogue Union forces continued to push into the weak Rogue Alliance line, advancing 20 kilometres at one point. As it turned out, the Leyendo forces retreated to a more defensible position, back to the Segura River. The front settled into stalemate, as fierce trench fighting continued to rage. Until the collapse of most of the Leyendo military, the front remained more or less static. Ironically, the Leyendo Confederation lost ground through its feint and counterattack.

Jaghurian Capture of "El Librario" (August 2006)

After Gemetar's capitulation with the Armistice of Taval (?? July 2006), Jaghurian forces were available to augment the Karchozians. Rather than a conventional attack, it was decided that the war had to end as quickly as possible, lest it drag on for a whole year. Karchozia had been bombing and shelling the capital of the Leyendo Confederation for several weeks, mainly for the psychological effect. A joint Karchozian-Jaghurian offensive mostly surrounded the nearby capital, though the task to capture it was relegated to the Jaghurians as the Karchozians consolidated the gains. The city of Los Llanuras was doomed to fall, as only a paltry force of 8,000 defended the city. Though the government had already left the city, the easy Jaghurian capture of the capital in the Second Battle of "El Librario" was a psychological blow for the Leyendo Confederation. From here on out, the Rogue Alliance advance began to snowball.

Endgame (September 2006)

As the Karchozian advance forced the Army of the Leyendo Confederation back to the last fifth of the land, the Leyendo Confederation continued to fight, hoping to at least be able to push some terms of surrender in the end. When the Rogue Alliance forces began to approach the new government seat on 24 September, the Leyendo Confederation stopped its retreat and dug in for a final stand. Unfortunately, the plains and easily-available Karchozian armour routed the defenders, whom surrendered en masse. After a chaotic three-day battle, compounded with the loss of the main armouries the month before, the government of the Leyendo Confederation officially and unconditionally surrendered, to the Rogue Alliance's surprise. Despite this late surrender, most of the Leyendo population had already stopped resisting by late August.

Aftermath

Dissolution of Rogue Union

The Rogue Union was totally and forcibly dissolved, though it had already become nothing by the time of the defeats of Gemetar and Xentor. The Leyendo Confederation was divided up into the three original countries, which were each administered by an appointed military governor. Xentor, TotallyNotAPuppet, and Gemetar each received a military governor as well. Surprisingly, Karchozia provided a great deal of aid to the citizens of the former Rogue Union countries, whom generally received it well and cooperated with the occupying nation.

Somewhat altruistically, Karchozia allowed Gemetar and Xentor to hold new elections without any major penalties. The Leyendo Confederation was reformed so no individual member could "...go rogue, if you pardon the pun," as General Kuropatkin put it. The new government was rechristened the Federation of Leyendo, with more powerful central powers and weaker state powers, and Rogue Alliance troops are currently rebuilding the infrastructure. TotallyNotAPuppet had its name reverted back to the Republic of San Esteban, with its government-in-exile returned to power. Karchozian forces are still occupying the nations and are scheduled to leave in early 2008.

Nevertheless, none of the defeated states are allowed to deploy their militaries without explicit Rogue Alliance consent unless they rejoin. Karchozia and Jaghur in particular have hoped that the resurgent nations could bolster their economy even more. As of now, none of the nations have expressed desire to join the Rogue Alliance yet.

Environmental Damage in the Leyendo Confederation

In the Read lots part of the Leyendo Confederation (now the Federation of Leyendo), a great deal of the rainforest was either cut down or killed off by herbicides during the war. Most of Wandering Companies, the instigator and the industrial sector, was in ruins. Kill lots, the military sector, experienced the least devastation during the war, though an extensive amount of damage still existed. Rogue Alliance soldiers are currently helping to rebuild the infrastructure of most of Leyendo, though the deforestation remains a big problem. The once-powerful lumber industry of Leyendo is now under Karchozian control, though lowered prices have helped to generate renewed interest and extra revenue for the Federation of Leyendo.

Casualties

Though the cornerstone of the Rogue Alliance effort, Karchozian forces had a low rate of soldiers killed and died from battle compared to the Rogue Union. Unfortunately, the inhospitable jungle in the Leyendo Confederation morbidly affected the Karchozian military, with incredibly virulent diseases claiming the lives of tens of thousands. In fact, more Karchozian fatalities were due to disease rather than from battle. It was not until a suitable herbicide was found and the subsequent Karchozian withdrawal that Karchozian casualties dropped. Approximately 60 thousand Karchozians were listed as KIA or MIA on each of the two fronts; 90 thousand died from illness or complications. Comparatively few soldiers were listed as WIA, as many of the wounded soon succumbed to disease. Nevertheless, approximately 200 thousand Karchozian soldiers were wounded and survived. Jaghurian casualties were generally confined to the front on Gemetar and were listed as 40 thousand KIA and MIA. Approximately 160 thousand were WIA. The casualty count for the New Soviets Republic 8th Guards Division, which was relegated to the rear after its initial action, was of 2,000 dead and 3,000 wounded.

The soldiers of Read lots, Kill lots, and Wandering Companies generally belonged to the Army of the Leyendo Confederation. Augmented by regional home armies, the combined Leyendo forces suffered at most 330 thousand deaths from battle and disease and 300 thousand wounded. Much of this was attributed to the obsolescent weaponry, armour, and equipment given to the improperly-trained forces, but the blame also lies with the mismanagement of the war. This led to Leyendo war-weariness and a growing civilian desire to court the Rogue Alliance governments. The forces of Xentor suffered 40 thousand KIA and MIA, with 150 thousand WIA. In Gemetar, indigenous forces incurred at least 90 thousand dead or missing and 400 thousand wounded. TotallyNotAPuppet produced a nearly identical casualty count to that of Xentor.

By the end of the short war, Rogue Alliance forces (Karchozian forces in particular) had taken very many casualties, with at least 610,000 losses in the span of seventeen weeks. However, the Rogue Union had taken even heavier casualties, with 1,500,000 military losses and the death of about 40,000 civilians in the crossfire. While not even close to Operation Barbarossa of World War II in terms of losses, the Rogue War still resulted in much higher casualties than the Brusilov Offensive of World War I. The heavy losses incurred by the Rogue Union forces soon discredited their governments, facilitating their surrenders.

Karchozian Government Reform

Throughout the course of the war, the government of Karchozia had become a controlling, authoritarian state. The economy and day-to-day activities were well regulated and controlled. After the successful conclusion of the Rogue War, there was no more need for a wartime government. The tribunal of military advisors and government officials that had been in charge of Karchozia throughout the war relinquished their positions without argument. By a unanimous vote in the Karchozian Parlaiment, Vasil D'Anglas was reinstated as the Prime Minister. Prime Minister D'Anglas was then given the task of slowing weening the citizens off of a wartime system. This process was very delicate, because a rapid shift could cause the complete collapse of many key industrial centers. Manufacturing slowing reverted away from military production, and rationing of food items was slowly lifted. After about six months, the country was basically in the same state that it had been before the outbreak of the war.