Battle of Korolyeviya (Pacifica)

Battle of Korolyeviya
Part of Pelinese Civil War
Date June 8 – October 19, 1980 (1980-06-08 – 1980-10-19) Location Korolyeviya, Pelinai Result Pelinese victory Destruction of the Belogoran 4th Rifle Army Survival of the Pelinese Provisional Government in Korolyeviya Territorial changes Belogorans repulsed from central Yukisora Mountains
Belligerents
Pelinese Provisional Government Pelinese Volunteer Legion	Socialist Republic of Belogora
Commanders and leaders
Prince Ishikandar IV General Netaka Yarimako Major Fritz Koehne	??? ???
Units involved
Yukisoran Front: 1st Army 3rd Army 5th Army 6th Army 19th Armored Division Sevarian Front: 2nd Army 11th Army Pelinese Volunteer Legion: Pelinese Volunteer Legion (brigade)	First East Stelossia Front: 4th Rifle Army 5th Rifle Army 8th Rifle Army 1st Tank Army Second East Stelossia Front: 16th Reserve Army 22nd Reserve Army First Yuzhkraya Front: 2nd Rifle Army 6th Rifle Army 17th Rifle Army
Casualties and losses
510,000-610,000 total combat deaths1	390,000-470,000 total combat deaths
Total combat dead: 900,000-1,080,000 1Includes civilian deaths

The Battle of Korolyeviya (June 8 1980 - October 19 1980) was a major battle in the Pelinese Civil War where the Socialist Republic of Belogora unsuccessfully attempted to capture the city of Korolyeviya, to the east of Yukisora. The battle was the deadliest single engagement of the Pelinese Civil War: it is notable for its particularly extensive, close-quarters urban and chemical warfare in freezing conditions, as well as the critical shortages of food, ammunition, medical supplies, and other necessities that plagued both sides during the course of the battle.

Background

By the second quarter of 1980, the ongoing War of Pelinese Restoration had largely proceeded poorly for the rebelling Pelinese Provisional Government: early successes in securing the northern half of Stelossia were reversed by February 1980 as the often poorly equipped Pelinese White Army struggled to effectively combat the loyalist forces of the Belogoran People’s Army, and foreign aid from pro-White nations such as Weisserstein experienced severe difficulties in reaching PPG positions through the almost universally Red-held coastlines.

The Supreme High Command of the BPA (BPA-VGK) had been planning for an offensive on the mountainous city of Korolyeviya since as early as December 1979. Korolyeviya held significant strategic importance to both sides of the war for political, economic, and military reasons: the city had been made into the de facto capital of the Pelinese Provisional Government after it became the largest city to fall to rebels during the White Revolution, and it contained both the Pelinese White Army’s high command and multiple industrial facilities producing weaponry and other materiel for White military forces engaged in the ongoing fighting in Stelossia. It notably also contained the Korolyeviya State Pesticide Plant, which had recently been converted from organophosphate pesticide production to the manufacturing of VX gas for use in chemical warfare.

The final preparations for the attack on Korolyeviya, code-named Operation Ablation by the BPA-VGK, were initiated on May 23, 1980 after a PWA attack on the nearby BPA-held industrial town of Yarimaka had been repelled; BPA leadership judged the attack to have depleted PWA materiel and troop numbers in the Korolyeviya region sufficiently enough to prevent catastrophic BPA losses in their offensive, which was set to occur in a cold, mountainous environment and would likely involve heavy combat in an extensively fortified urban area. The attack itself was scheduled to begin at 06:30 GCT+3 on June 8, 1980, when BPA forces would begin their drive towards Korolyeviya.

Significance

Military

The defeat of the Belogoran People’s Army in Korolyeviya severely depleted its combat strength in the Yukisora region and stalled its offensive to secure the eastern prefectures of Stelossia. The Pelinese White Army, then critically under-supplied after its initial failed attack on Yarimaka, additionally captured large amounts of serviceable BPA equipment (primarily from the surrendering remnants of the 4th Rifle Army); much of this captured materiel would go on to on to form a significant portion of the PWA Yukisoran Front’s allotted equipment during its fighting in the Northern Front, even up to the Battle of Letograd. BPA forces were prevented from neutralizing the Pelinese Whites’ primary leaders, government, and military command structure, preventing a government victory in the war and allowing the White Army to effectively take advantage of the BPA’s weakened state with counteroffensives in Sevaria and Loshkaria.

The battle was a major propaganda victory for the Pelinese Provisional Government, which had up to that point suffered multiple major defeats against the more professional and well-equipped Belogoran People’s Army. It demonstrated the possibility of a Pelinese victory and galvanized popular support needed by the Provisional Government to continue its war against the Belogoran regime.

Cultural

The lavender color on the Pelinese Guards Ribbon’s stripes is partially derived from the peach blossom emblem of the 4th Rifle Division, which was a major participant of the battle and the first Pelinese military formation to receive the honor after its creation.