Cetsencalia front

Cetsencalia front
Part of the Final War of the Deluge
VPDC forces defending against a Varshani raid, 2022
Date September 29, 2021 - ongoing Location Cetsencalia Result Ongoing
Belligerents
Varshan	Urcea VPDC Nahe (from 2022) The Cape (from 2022)
Units involved
Xiquipilli of Continental Liberation	WES-COM
Strength
840,000+	795,000+
Casualties and losses
High	High

The Cetsencalia front is a theater of operations of the Final War of the Deluge fought in former Cetsencalia and in neighboring regions of Varshan. It includes all operations fought within Cetsencalia following the end of the Invasion of Cetsencalia and the collapse of the Cetsencalian state. The front was fought concurrently with the Veltorine insurgency.

Background

Main article: Invasion of Cetsencalia

After years of issuing increasingly hostile warnings to Occidental powers participating in The Deluge, Varshan invaded Cetsencalia in 2021 as part of an overall response to the war between Urcea and Algoquona. Following a six month campaign which mostly saw victories by advancing Varshani forces, New Constanz was evacuated and fell to Varshani forces. The Varshani government established a collaborator government out of remaining elements of the Veltorine Social Council (VSC). In addition to the large number of prisoners of war captured during the campaign, Varshan now occupied territory comprising the majority Veltorine population of Cetsencalia and began a campaign of relocation and concentration in addition to settlement. They were opposed in this effort by the Veltorine Popular Defense Committee, which waged the Veltorine insurgency against the occupation. The VPDC and Royal and Imperial Army also responded by conventional military means, establishing the "Cetsencalian front" of the conflict following the end of the invasion.

Summary of operations

Aftermath of invasion

In the immediate aftermath of the Invasion of Cetsencalia and fall of New Constanz, Nysdra Sea Treaty Association forces were divided in two, with most forces in the parts of Cetsencalia west of New Constanz but a smaller contingent east of the city in the mountainous region adjoining Quetzenkel. NSTA forces underwent a major reorganization in the two or three weeks following the fall of New Constanz, shifting forces evenly in an attempt to hold the Varshani forces to where they had progressed while ensuring that the Quetzenkel front would not be compromised. This period also saw a considerable transfer of assets and units to the Veltorine Popular Defense Committee.

"Raider's War"

Beginning in late October of 2021, Royal and Imperial Army and Veltorine Popular Defense Committee began a series of joint operations intended to free Urcean and Veltorine prisoners of war behind Varshani lines. The operation was devised for three main objectives. Its primary objective was to lift allied morale with a series of minor victories following the disastrous campaign in defense of New Constanz and to gain further information on the overall disposition of Varshani forces remaining in the theater. Its secondary objective was to continue to tie down Varshani forces to distract from campaigns further south waged by Alstin and Urcea, especially the Ehemoan front and Operation Jonah. The third and tertiary objective of the planned raids was to prevent as many Urceans and Veltorines as possible from being victims of human sacrifice, and to otherwise prevent these personnel from joining the ranks of Varshani slaves. To that end, the Royal and Imperial Army and VPDC launched probing raids all across the western frontier from October 25 to November 18 2021 in what became known to the soldiers as the "Raider's War". During these operati

Liberation of Barrafranca

On the evening of 7 March 2022, elements of the Nahean Expeditionary Force and Royal and Imperial Army began an offensive against the city of Barrafranca just east of New Constanz. While initially intended as an armored reconnaissance-in-force operation, Varshani forces within the city were unexpectedly almost overwhelmed by midnight. Consequently, the Royal and Imperial Army sent additional reinforcements to the city around 2 AM local time on 8 March, having delayed somewhat for fear of a trap. Armored reinforcements managed to cut the lines of the city from the west, encircling the brigade-strength garrison of the city and causing them to surrender by 7 AM. Contemporary military intelligence suggested that the city would be much more heavily defended, and a study conducted in June of 2022 concluded that the Atomic bombing of Shimrra had so greatly disrupted the supply chain in northern Varshan that their occupation force in Cetsencalia was prepared to concede the northern coast in order to shorten its salient in the country.

Pentapolis campaign

On 31 May 2022, forces of the Royal and Imperial Army began the largest Urcean ground offensive of the war to that point as a major armored spearhead broke through Varshani defensive lines a few hundred kilometers west of New Constanz, beginning a push to liberate the "Pentapolis" - a grouping of Veltorine settlements sitting in the plain west of New Constanz.