| Red Leaves | |||||||||
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 Rocket artillery of the Red Army of Svobodnaya Rossiya in place for Operation Meadowlands. | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Soviet Socialist Republic of Svobodnaya Rossiya
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 Republic of Gradoslavia (dissolved Sep 2009)
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| Commanders | |||||||||
| Gen. Katiya Rychenko Gen. Sergei Lazutkin Col. Oleksandr Vostok Col. Vladimir Potemkin
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Alexei Ilyushin Other/Unknown
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| Strength | |||||||||
| 850 troops 100 tanks 15 aircraft |
1,000 troops1 150 tanks1 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 58 military, 36 civilian | 350 military1 | ||||||||
| 1 Some information has been lost due to incomplete records and the recent dissolution of Gradoslavia. Figures marked are estimates.
Names of individual events are as found in Svobodnayan records. | |||||||||
The Red Leaves Conflict was fought between the Soviet Socialist Republic of Svobodnaya Rossiya and the Republic of Gradoslavia from August 9-11 of 2009. The conflict ended with a ceasefire, and the Gradoslavian force was withdrawn.
Initial Action
On 9 August of 2009, an internal coup occurred in the republic 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 supplemented by tanks entered Svobodnayan territory, moving swiftly ahead of supply lines in an uncoordinated, aggressive attack. The garrison of the 5th Red Guards Infantry Division in the city of Sovet'sk, consisting of rifles and artillery, was quickly encircled and fought to break out for the next several hours, suffering 22 casualties. Red Army 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 the theater of operations at approximately 0515. Artillery barrages from the encircled city and probing skirmishes from fresh Red Army troops in the hills to the southwest continued over the next several hours as the 8th Cavalry and 2nd Air Force Regiment readied. The majority of the 36 Svobodnayan civilian casualties are estimated to have occurred during this stage of the invasion, largely due to a small firestorm compounded by the interruption of water mains from initial shelling earlier in the night intended to soften the city for the push by infantry.
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 containing light infantry and artillery teams, were regrouped in the south of the city by 2200 as the city garrison continued fighting in the city proper. 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 newly-developed supply train. The Red Army's ground force task force, codenamed Katyusha, circled around the eastern half of the city as part of Operation Meadowlands, supplemented by artillery and air support. The Gradloslavian force was caught almost completely unprepared for the assault, and large groups of infantry were separated from the main body and routed north.
The Red Army sustained 36 casualties in the operation, two of them in the Red Army Air Force after a Yakovlev fighter of 15 Squadron, 1st Regiment suffered a mechanical failure. The operation, which was the peak of confrontation during the war, cost the Gradoslavian force approximately 350 casualties, and the force made a semi-organized full withdrawal over the next several hours of the early morning to the border. Detachments of the Katyusha task force remained out of range but pursued the retreating army to within 1 kilometer of the border. Small pockets of resistance remained in the city center, and house-to-house fighting continued until 0730 the morning of 11 August.
Resolution
Just after 1100 on 11 August, 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 conditional armistice. 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 territory.
Two identical monuments to military and civilian casualties were erected in the Svobodnayan city of Sovet'sk and the national cemetery in the capital of Kaliningrad. The conflict became popularly known as "Red Leaves" due to its occurrence in autumn, and despite lasting only 48 hours it is viewed in Svobodnaya Rossiya as a shining example of Soviet military skill. A single black star was added to the state and battle flags as well as the naval ensign.
Information regarding the event and aftermath in Gradoslavian records is unavailable, as the nation of Gradoslavia has recently ceased to exist.