| Battle of Taba Part of the War on Tabatinia | |
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Belligerents: |
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Commanders: |
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Strength: |
750 foot soldiers |
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Casualties: |
350 foot soldiers |
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Civilian casualties: |
4 killed |
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Result |
Decisive Turnipion victory; Aeruma exiled to Myrin |
The Battle of Taba (29 December 2009) was a short offensive assault initiated by the Turnipion Union on the city of Taba, which was the capital of the State of Tabatín. It was the sole battle of the War on Tabatinia, and was a decisive Turnipion victory. Undra Aeruma, the leader of the Tabatingians, was forced to retreat with his surviving forces further up north into the North White River Delta to establish a new capital, the city of Myrin. It was the first invasion initiated in Sector Antioch's history.
Background[]
The scant defensive preparations of the Tabatingians immediately before the invasion.
The city of Taba had just been founded by bands of Aerumaen loyalists exiled from the Despotate of Silvermoon after the Silver City Civil Conflict who had been marooned on continent Karalla after a massive storm system ran the freighter Новото селище aground within the North White River Delta. Approximately 754 of the original 2,500 citizens had survived the crash. These survivors salvaged the remains of the massive freighter and chose a fertile location at the base of the delta to construct their settlement, and exiled heir to the Silvermoon throne Undra Aeruma was chosen as dictator for life over the Tabatingian settlement and nation. Aeruma drafted 600 men, women, and children into his military at once and set them into a training program that killed 100 of them in the process. He selected Xavian Tarragía as the supreme commander of military affairs and hand-picked five strategic locations for security checkpoints upon pathways into the city where passing people could be forcibly taxed.
To man the checkpoints, Tarragía chose Lieutenants Ursa Malfoas (Checkpoint Prime), Layry Jaysmis (Checkpoint Gimel), and John Danfurth (Checkpoints Daleth and Beth), placing one hundred troops under each's control. Tarragía then established Fort Rotterdam as the command center for Tabatingian military and police operations, placing two hundred troops under his own control.
Intel of the invasion came to Fort Rotterdam ten minutes before General Pwn of Turnipion's armies reached the city. Tarragía realized that he could not hold off the larger Turnipion invasion force, and informed Undra Aeruma of his plans to evacuate Aeruma from the city. In his haste, Tarragía was unable to find an additional lieutenant to man Checkpoint Aleph, the back door through which Aeruma could escape, so he selected Private Yoset Yrtai as the commander of the Aleph Expedition Force, composed of one hundred troops initially stationed in Fort Rotterdam. Aeruma decided not to inform the general populace of Tarragía's "Operation бягство ключ," knowing that the population would most likely support the invading forces because of his oppressive regime. Malfoas was informed of the plan, but Tarragía could not reach Danfurth or Jaysmis before the invasion hit. The latter were uninformed of the strike.
Battle[]
Initial assault[]
The first phase of the invasion.
Pwn's Western Army of 500 troops arrived on the western bank of the White River. They charged Jaysmis' Checkpoint Gimel immediately; before Jaysmis and his men could react effectively, Pwn's Western Army had surrounded the Checkpoint and slaughtered everybody at the station. Pwn's smaller Eastern Army of 250 troops, which was located on the eastern bank of the White River, was met with a more clear-cut resistance; Malfoas mobilized to block the lightning advance of the Eastern Army with his 100 troops until General Tarragía could make the necessary preparations and back him up.
Danfurth received the distress signal from Checkpoint Gimel, which Jaysmis had personally sent before he was stabbed to death by a Western Army soldier. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Danfurth abandoned Checkpoints Daleth and Beth with his 100 troops and mobilized them to the other side of Main Bridge in the center of the city to force Pwn's Western Army through a chokepoint. Upon arriving at the location, Danfurth received a message from Tarragía informing him completely of situation. Danfurth replied with his own status, and was ordered to hold the line at the bridge to stop the advance while Aeruma escaped to Checkpoint Aleph.
Undra Aeruma reached Checkpoint Aleph quickly and rendezvous'd with Yrtai, whose instructions were to escape across Barre Bridge and into the delta.
Full-scale retreat[]
The retreat.
Malfoas successfully slowed the Eastern Army's advance to a halt, although at a price; she was killed in action as Tarragía arrived to reinforce her. All of her remaining troops were killed when Pwn's Eastern Army attempted to capture Checkpoint Prime; Pwn's Eastern Army lost 150 of its 250 troops. Tarragía continued to hold the line, unaware that Pwn had called for an additional 250 troops under General 0wn from the Turnipion capital of New Karalla. However, a passing civilian merchant informed Yrtai and Aeruma of the supplementary expedition force, and Aeruma ordered two couriers to return to Taba, with one heading for Danfurth's force and the other for Tarragía and Malfoas.
Danfurth killed nearly 200 of the Western Army's 500 troops, halting their advance; he, however, received the retreat order later than Tarragía because the courier became lost while running through Taba's streets, so his force, which had been halved to 50 troops, lagged behind Tarragía's retreat. The withdrawal was so disorganized that the city had been liberated by Pwn and 0wn before the retreating forces had even left Checkpoint Aleph.
Aftermath[]
General Pwn received orders from New Karalla that instructed him to halt the pursuit of Tarragía, Danfurth, Aeruma, and Yrtai into the delta swamplands. At the first possible opportunity, Pwn sent an emissary informing Tabatinia that a ceasefire had become feasible. Tabatinia replied promptly, agreeing to sign the treaty. The Treaty of Peace Between Tabatinia and the Turnipion Union officially ceded Taba to the Turnipion Union, ending the battle and war.