Battle of Karccev (Cruentusian War)

"We lost many good men on Karccev. Nearly half the soldiers stationed there were killed, as well as most of their officers and thousands of civilians. It was true hell."

- Tray Doich on the Battle of Karccev

The Battle of Karccev was a major, though not well known, battle between the Sinyan Imperium and the Taung Confederacy during the Cruentusian War. It was one of the longest battles of the war, lasting several months from the end the third year all the way until the Battle of Dxun.

The battle began when the Taung Confederacy, wanting revenge for their losses on Axra Prime, invaded the Sinyan-held planet of Karccev. Despite quick gains early on, the Taung advance was stopped and driven back by Sinyan reinforcements. The battle then turned into a stalemate, lasting several months with neither side making any major gains.

It finally came to an end when the Taung withdrew from Karccev to protect their homeworld of Dxun. The Taung Confederacy would be forced out of the war shortly thereafter, while the Sinyan Imperium would go on join the United Coalition of Worlds, an alliance of planets that would, in time, evolve into the.

Prelude
Despite having suffered heavy losses on Axra Prime, the Taung Confederacy decided to continue their conquest of Sinyan Imperium space by invading Karccev. Spy work by Taung Intelligence operatives revealed that the planet was well defended for a possible strike, but also revealed that the Sinyans had no official leader in place. Karccev was also the last planet under Sinyan control other then Sinya itself, so the Taungs believed that a fast-paced invasion would easily defeat the unorganized garrison. The battle would also be an act of revenge for the Taung losses on Axra Prime.

The Sinyans, meanwhile, were still trying to relocate their troops that had been withdrawn from the planets of Axra Prime and Mu Nae. Sinyan Emperor Yen Balestone's increasing involvement in military affairs only further complicated the situation. Joe Tylars, Supreme Commander of the Sinya Defense Force, was still angry over the events on Axra in which Bureau of Sinyan Intelligence Chief Herich Stimmlur had left behind large numbers of Sinya Defense Force soldiers and Sinyan colonists. The constant arguing amongst the various Sinyan leaders drew their much needed attention from the leaderless Karccev.

Initial moves
Beginning their invasion, the Taung launched a space assault to take out the Sinyan orbital platforms above the planet. The lightly armed stations stood little chance against the Mandalore-class cruisers of the Taungs, although the Sinyans were able to deploy some modern fighters to counter the invaders. Despite their efforts however, the Sinyan forces were quickly dispatched and Taung troops began to land on the planet surface.

Sinyan forces on the ground were no better prepared for the assault then their space-based counterparts and the Taung rapidly conquered Sinyan territory. The lack of Sinyan officers on the planet only contributed to the chaos as panicked troops began a disorganized retreat. As per their usual doctrine, the Taung executed any soldiers who surrendered and killed any civilians that got in their way. News of these events eventually reached Sinya and Tylars quickly sent out reinforcements.

Orbital battle
"Uh, is that supposed to be happening?" "What...? Dive for cover!"

- Dak Chamblers and Raulay Weggins seconds before their deaths

The SDF task force, under the command of Admiral Raulay Weggins and General Dak Chamblers, reached Karccev in time to find it under nearly complete control of the Taung. Chamblers wanted to withdraw but Weggins believed there was still a chance to regain the planet and he ordered his fleet to engage the enemy warships. Some of the Sinyan forces were able to make it down to the planet surface while others were destroyed by Taung fighters. Chamblers remained on the bridge with Weggins aboard the Sinyan command ship Conquest to direct the ground battle from there. Both were killed however, when a damaged Taung fighter crashed into the bridge tower. Most remaining Sinyan ships retreated to the planet surface.

Back and forth
The surviving Sinyan forces, now under the command of Hanen Chards, began their landings as close to the front lines as possible. Chards wanted to reinforce the defenders as quickly as he could. This paid off, as, with the added help, the SDF was able to halt the Taung advance. Before the Taungs had a chance to recover from this, Chards launched a surprise counter-offensive which rapidly gained back lost territory. The Taung were thrown into retreat with the SDF in hot pursuit. However, the Sinyans soon began to overstretch their troops and the attack was forced to halt.

The Taung then re-launched their offensive which inflicted heavy losses on the Sinyans. Among the dead was Chards, who had over-confidently placed his command center to close to the front lines. The Sinyans were eventually able to stem the attack and began to dig in while the Taungs did likewise. A long lasting stalemate would ensue, with both sides unable to make any progress against the other.

Local trouble
"I thought we had already crushed these fools!"

- A Sinyan soldier on the re-entry of the Stiluun Loyalists

Not long after the factions entered the stalemate, a group of local insurgents loyal to the Stiluun family began to launch raids on both sides. Lead by Jussen Stiluun, these men were determined to expel the "Imperialists" from their planet. Despite their devotion, the loyalists were considered poorly equipped to fight the larger and more advanced Sinyan and Taung forces. Regardless, they were able to cause enough damage to gain the attention of the Taungs. After several skirmishes, the Taungs sent a force of elite soldiers to crush the insurgents. They were ultimately successful and Stiluun was killed along with nearly all his men. With this threat removed, the two factions turned their attention back to each other.

Finest hour
The stalemate continued to last for several months; however, during this time, Tylars had ordered preparations to be made for a massive operation. The operation would be spearheaded by a large fleet of Sinyan warships lead by Tylars' flagship, the Imperious, and followed by land campaign led by Tray Doich. Finally, after months of assembly and preparation, the assault was launched. When the SDF forces arrived near Karccev, they caught the Taungs unprepared and were able to break through the blockade to launch landing forces. Tylars remained aboard the bridge of the Imperious, which had been strengthened to avoid another disaster like with the Conquest.

Meanwhile, Doich had landed and begun his offensive. Taung troops put up fierce resistance, but were unable to hold ground for long as Doich's leadership helped the Sinyans overcome them. Several attempts by numerous Taung officers to launch a counter-attack were crushed and by the end of the day, the Taung forces were in complete disarray. The next morning, the Taung commander in charge of the entire campaign ordered a full withdrawal. The Taung troops returned to their homeworld of Dxun, which had just been attacked by the Srav Federation, another faction fighting in the war.

Aftermath
"When the Taungs began running into their ships and flying off faster then a SAAV-4, we knew it was over."

- A Sinyan soldier recounting the Taung withdrawal

The battle was considered a Sinyan victory despite the loss of thousands of troops and officers. Doich's offensive would long be considered his "finest hour" and Tylars was praised for his choice to launch the operation. Not long after the Battle, Emperor Balestone was among the signers the Treaty of Corellia which formed the United Coalition of Worlds. The Imperium unofficially lost its sovereignty and many of its commanders, including Tylars, would become officers in the United Coalition's military.

The Taung Confederacy had been severely crippled by both the Battle of Dxun, as well as Karccev, and was forced to exit the war.

Behind the scenes
The Battle of Karccev was originally going to be a collaborative effort between Ty294 and Darth Storm as part of the Project Cruentus drive on Star Wars Fanon, however; Storm's inactivity prompted Ty294 to write the entire article himself.

The Battle of Karccev is based partially off the trench warfare of World War I and the "Russian Front" of World War II. Part of the inspiration came from the WWII sit-com Hogan's Heroes, in which German officers are in constant fear of being sent to the Russian Front. Ty294 hoped to create a parody of that with his Sinyan forces, although he never added mentions of it into the actual article. Ty294 also intended for the Battle of Karccev to be one of the longest battles of the Cruentusian War.

Ty294 is currently working on a Star Wars Battlefront mod map of Karccev, and hopes to release it on Filefront.com soon.