The Second Civil War
Part II: To Malodinetsk!
Backed by the Russian 34th Brigade, separatist forces crossed the Alansk and assaulted Fort St Andrew on 28 September 2001. Nightly infantry raids were accompanied by interminable mortar attacks until on 20 November the Zelenorussian troops received orders to abandon the fort. By that date the historical site was little more than a collection of rubble and empty casings.
Thus began the separatists’ push into Malodinetsk oblast. With substantial Russian assistance they theorised that they could capture the regional capital by summer, and with that their new state would be complete.
On 1 December Chairman Bereznikov called for a council with his Russian military attachés and together they drafted ‘Operation Kholibrov’, a three-stage plan to overpower the Zelenorussian defensive line along the regional border and seize the capital.
- The 34th Brigade and 32nd Regiment advance on Uzkiysk and capture it from Zelenorussian armoured forces.
The 205th Brigade assault through the town of Dombrayevsk and then move to capture Slovyansk-na-Kabargom. - The 34th and 205th Brigades converge on the major city of Lvovsk from both flanks.
- The combined forces advance to capture Malodinetsk, with airborne reinforcements arriving from the north to aid in the attack.
The plan was offset from the beginning.
As loyalist membership grew exponentially, separatist numbers remained largely the same as before the occupation of Leninsk. Many did not see the point, especially with the presence of trained Russian soldiers. Meanwhile the activities of the Alansky Underground began to increase in intensity. Loyalist guerrillas were a constant source of harassing attacks on supply lines from north and east of Leninsk.
With their supply in jeopardy, separatist forces found it ever more difficult to arm their troops. Reliance on the Russians was no longer an option, either. The men of the 34th and 205th Brigades, having done most of the heavy lifting in the battle for Leninsk, were exhausted after almost four months of continuous fighting.
With the Russians momentarily removed from the equation, all that was left on the separatist side was a smattering of one hundred thousand men who barely had uniforms to set them apart from the people they claimed to be liberating. Meanwhile the Zelenorussian forces took their chance to recuperate and build their defences around Uzkiysk, which they estimated would be the centre of the separatist offensive. Armoured units took defensive positions along the Kabargy and Kazminsk rivers. Mechanised infantry regiments were recalled to the frontline at Slovyansk and Dombrayevsk became home for two divisions of heavy infantry.
When at last in early February the separatists actioned their plan, the Zelenorussians had built up a substantial defence against an attack from the east. The invading army met resistance at every turn.
The 34th Brigade reached Uzkiysk on 9 February as planned, but even with the support of a Zabad foot regiment the harrowing resistance from across the Kazminsk prevented any real progress. The two sides traded artillery salvos day and night.
The 205th Brigade was a week behind schedule and had lost sixty men when it reached Dombrayevsk on 18 February. Loyalist attacks and unexpected supply issues had weighed the unit down. The Zelenorussians guarding the city put up a stiff resistance and took heavy losses before being ordered to retreat on 24 February. Meanwhile the 34th was still held up at Uzkiysk.
As the 205th Brigade began to march on Slovyansk, the 34th was still holding dearly to its positions east of Uzkiysk. The use of attack helicopters had proven less effective than initially thought. Half a dozen Russian helicopters were downed during the battle for the city.
The two Russian brigades were beginning to fall out of sync. As the 205th stormed ahead, powered by momentum from its victory at Dombrayevsk, the 34th remained grounded around Uzkiysk, trapped in chokepoints by a smaller and lesser equipped force.
The situation became so dire that in March the separatist commanders called forward the 32nd Support Regiment, which previously had been guarding supply routes, to attack the city’s northern flank. The Russians actioned elements of the 10th Spetsnaz Brigade, which were to disable Zelenorussian artillery batteries southwest of the city and decommission radio communications equipment.
With the help of their reinforcements and the special forces, Russian troops managed to break down the Zelenorussian defence and by 10 March the city was theirs. The Russians had suffered two hundred casualties during the battle, and in the end dealt more than twice that number to the Zelenys.
The 34th was now well behind schedule. Russian forces departed Uzkiysk on 12 March, leaving behind a cohort of separatist troops to keep order, but by that date the 205th Brigade was already more than halfway down the River Kabargy to their objective at Lvovsk and could not risk halting lest they fall victim to partisan attacks. In the end this discrepancy would cost the Russian campaign dearly.
On 14 March the battle for Lvovsk began in earnest. The 205th Brigade met with heavy resistance from the armoured units outside of the city. The brigade received orders to hold their positions and await the arrival of reinforcements from the east. Russian paratroopers would be deployed to the city’s west to bypass the city’s defence.
As the 34th Brigade closed on the city, the 205th came under attack from all angles. The artillery batteries stationed near Lvovsk turned their guns southward and partisan night raids supplemented daylight tank assaults. Back and forth the two armies traded blows.
Slowed by troubled supply lines and guerrilla attacks, the 34th did not make good on their march to Lvovsk till 19 March, and by that time the 205th was on the brink of being overrun. The Russian 56th Guards Airborne Regiment was deployed as Russian mechanised troops began their assault on Lvovsk from the north. Spread thin though it was, the Zelenorussian defence held strong, even as Russian paratroopers and special forces surrounded the cities. Zelenorussian reinforcements began to move from western districts towards Lvovsk as the fighting around the city escalated further.
The Russian forces had only so long to capitalise on their advantage, but despite their strength they were unable to penetrate Zelenorussian lines and never succeeded in taking the city centre. Bereznikov and the high command hesitated, and by 15 April the Zeleny reinforcements were upon them.
To be continued in Part III.
