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+ (Dec 2021) 1,650,000+ (Jun 2022)
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

Beginning on Apil 20th, 2022, the Royal Air Force began an extensive bombing campaign on the corridor between Barrafranca and the Urcean lines west of New Constanz. 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. Elements of II Armored Legion New Yustona exploited a reorganization of Varshani defenses prompted by a change in the aerial campaign and penetrated fifteen miles into the Varshani line by 4 June, capturing vital supply depots and the major airfield in the territory, causing significant logistical issues for Varshani forces largely reliant on the north-south highway and railway corridor extending to New Constanz. With the possibility of their headquarters being captured by 6 June and being cut off from their primary base of supply, most Varshani forces abandoned their defense of the coastal region and attempted to rally in the three eastern cities of the Pentapolis in order to prevent New Constanz from becoming a salient. Most Varshani forces, harassed by the RAF and attack helicopters of the Royal and Imperial Army, did not reach the regroup zone and were destroyed or otherwise had to abandon their equipment. The command of the Xiquipilli of Continental Liberation decided to entirely abandon the region and create a new defensive line surrounding the New Constanz-Interior transport corridor.

New Constanz campaign

With the fall of the Pentapolis in June 2022, Varshani forces contemplated abandoning New Constanz altogether. However, the ongoing siege of Cobalt Fortress in the Quetzenkel Front meant that Varshani commanders were under significant political pressure to not abandon too much territory. Although the right of way including the region's only highway and railway connection to New Constanz was heavily bombed, most military vehicles were still able to reach the city. Constructed during the settlement of the country some five years earlier, the remaining territory between New Constanz and the Cetsencalian interior was heavily forested with rough highlands. Consequently, Varshani command decided to defend the corridor "to the last man".