Red Leaves

The Red Leaves Conflict was fought between the Soviet Socialist Republic of Svobodnaya Rossiya and the Federal Republic of Gradoslavia in October of 2009. The conflict was resolved with a ceasefire, and the Gradoslavian force was withdrawn.

Initial Action
On 9 August of 2009, an internal coup occured in the nation of Gradoslavia, bordering Svobodnaya Rossiya on its northwestern quarter. The younger brother of then-President Victor Ilyushin, Alexei Ilyushin, seized control of the national government for unknown reasons, backed by radical sectors of the citizenry and military. The President was ousted and detained while the conspirators assumed control by martial law and ordered military action against Svobodnaya Rossiya as clashes between loyalists and coup members clashed in the capital city.

Shortly after 2200 that evening, a force of approximately 1,000 Gradoslavian troops and tanks entered Svobodnayan territory, moving swiftly ahead of supply lines in an uncoordinated, agressive attack. The garrison of the Svobodnayan 5th Red Guards Infantry Division, consisting of rifles and artillery, in the city of Sovet'sk was quickly encircled and fought to break out for the next several hours, losing 22 to casualties. Command staff arrived at an emergency meeting at 2245, and 50% of the active and 25% of the reserve land units were ordered to be mobilized immediately.

Attack aircraft from naval and air force fields in Kaliningrad about 15 minutes away flew continuing missions against the invaders, but were initially hampered by cloud cover and the enemy's swift advance, both of which made friend-or-foe distinction risky. Air attack operations ceased at 0330 on 10 August, though fighter aircraft continued to conduct patrols.

Battle of Chornye Ridge
At approximately 0430 on 10 August, the 5th Red Guards Infantry broke encirclement on the southwest sector of Sovet'sk after conducting a lengthy artillery barrage. Detachments left the city on improvised armored vehicles to establish contact with the 8th Red Guards Cavalry armor and command personnel of the 2nd Red Air Force Regiment, which reached engagement range at approximately 0515. Artillery barrages from the encircled city and fresh troops in the hills to the southwest continued over the next several hours as the 8th Cavalry and 2nd Air Force Regiment readied.

At 0730, attack aircraft of the 1st, 2nd, and 5th Air Force Regiments under Col. Oleksandr Vostok made runs against exposed enemy armor and vehicles on the northern pincer of the Gradoslavian army, inflicting minor damage and light casualties. Shortly thereafter, the main force of the 8th Cavalry pushed north into the southern city limits while the city garrison swept southeast to meet them. Civilian evacuations began en masse at this time from the city centre and suburbs. Occasional house-to-house fighting and shelling continued as the Red Army solidified its hold on the southern half of the city. The northern Gradoslavian pincer moved south, forcing the Red Army garrison to fall back south; the withdrawing troops opted not to create barricades or sabotage facilities.

Fighting continued in the city and to its east until approximately 2100.

Sovet'sk Offensive
The 8th Cavalry, now supported by 1st and 2nd Red Guards Infantry Divisions, were regrouped in the hills south of the city by 2200. Almost exactly 24 hours after the initial incursion, air strikes resumed in full strength against the Gradoslavian army occupying the city center and northern suburbs, decimating their forming supply train to the north. The Red Army's ground force task force, codenamed Katyusha, swept around the eastern half of the city as part of Operation Meadowlands, supplemented by artillery and air support.

The Red Army sustained 36 casualties in the operation, two of them in the airforce after a Yakovlev fighter of 15 Squadron suffered a mechanical failure. The operation, which was the peak of confrontation during the war, cost the Gradoslavian force approximately 350 casualties, and the contingent leadership broke after the attack; and the force made a full withdrawal over the next several hours of the early morning to the border. Small pockets of resistance remained in the city center, and house-to-house fighting continued until 0730.

Resolution
Just after 1100 on 10 October, supporters of President Ilyushin recaptured government buildings in an organized action consisting of police, loyal military, and the general populace. The recognized government was considered in power by 1400, and signed an immediate. Those responsible for ordering and carrying out the attack were taken into custody, tried, and jailed. No official treaty was proposed as there had not been an official declaration of war. Diplomatic ties were reestablished, and the Gradoslavian government helped to fund recovery operations in the affected Svobodnayan territory.

Information regarding the event and aftermath in Gradoslavian records is unavailable, as the nation of Gradoslavia has recently ceased to exist.