Northern Territory War
| Northern Territory War | |||||||
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 A Rotgeheiman officer of the 13th VS-Mountain Division Dinslaken signals for his troops to advance |
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Initial forces
Forces by January 1915
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Forces by January 1915
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| Killed: 26,129 | Killed: 54,900 |
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The Northern Territory War was a conflict that occurred in the Rotgeheiman province of Finnmarck. Fuerstenburg, a rival nation of Rotgeheim, invaded Finnmarck early on 11 September. Roughly 150,000 Fuerstenburg Defense Forces troops invaded Finnmarck via landing barges, and because of the ill-preparation of Rotgeheiman forces, many civilian casualties occurred. Few Rotgeheiman divisions are stationed in the two northernmost provinces, and as such the defending forces were outnumbered from the start. The conflict lasted from September of 1914 to September 1915, after Rotgeheiman forces forced Fuerstenburg forces from Rotgeheiman territory. It is unknown why Fuerstenburg invaded Rotgeheim at this time.
Contents
Background
Fuerstenburg has always had ill will towards Rotgeheim and its people. In the later 18th and early to mid 19th centuries, civil war engulfed large parts of Fuerstenburg. Innumerable quantities of Fuerstenburg citizens fled the country to other countries, and most of them ended up seeking refuge in Rotgeheim - the province of Finnmarck actually have some of the largest minorities of citizens from Fuerstenburg. Since recovering from civil war is often a costly prospect, the economy and overall spending of Fuerstenburg has always been low. Jealousy arose from Fuerstenburg, and contempt began to develop when appeals to Rotgeheim for financial aid were denied. It has been suspected that Fuerstenburg wishes to seize the province of Finnmarck from Rotgeheim, as they have said before that the large minority of Fuerstenburg expats and descendants of Fuerstenburg citizens living there should return to Fuerstenburg in some form or fashion. The seizure of the two provinces would be, in effect, one way in which the expats and descendants could "return" to Fuerstenburg. These causes for invasion are merely accusations and suspicions, however, and no legitimate cause has been thus far confirmed (as of 12 September).
Opening Hostilities
Invasion of Finnmarck
On 11 September at roughly 4:00 a.m., ships of the Fuerstenburg Defense Forces were sighted off the northern island of Finnmarck (the islands are known locally as two different entities, and are called Nordmarck for the northern island and Südmarck for the southern island). Warning signals were dispatched to the ships, but no signal was received. A brief, two-hour naval bombardment then commenced at 8:00 a.m. by the larger ships of the Fuerstenburg Navy. A small coastal town was pulverized into rubble and many civilians were killed in the shelling. Rotgeheiman forces were mobilized at around 10:00 a.m.
Rotgeheiman coastal defense planes and ships were dispatched to engage the Fuerstenburg forces, but many casualties were suffered due to the lack of planning and single-file attack strategy used. Rotgeheiman aircraft fared better. Ju87-f dive bombers and Hs129-f heavy dive bombers fired upon the ships, inflicting heavy damage in some cases. The small number of aircraft, however, limited the success of the attack overall.
At roughly 10:30 a.m., naval landing craft arrived on the shores of Nordmarck. Rotgeheiman troops of the 26th VS-Mountain Division Langemarck, stationed in the area, immediately began firing upon the invaders. Heavy casualties were sustained by the Fuerstenburg troops due to the voluminous fire received from the Rotgeheiman defenders. Only two infantry battalions of Langemarck were present on the beach during the invasion, as the rest of the division was held back a few kilometers to the south, in the larger town of Bellock. These two battalions held back the invading forces until mid-afternoon, at which time they were overrun and forced to retreat to Bellock.
Langemarck was able to secure a line of defense on the hills south of the beach head secured on Nordmarck, although the weak line meant that the defending troops could be overrun in a mere matter of hours if the Fuerstenburg forces attempted to do so. Langemarck headquarters requested immediate assistance in the area. Verteidigungsstaffel High Command replied ambiguously that forces were incoming, but in fact these forces in question were not mobilized and sent to Finnmarck until early the next morning.
Fuerstenburg troops did not advance any further past the very bottom of the hills to the south of the beach head established north of Bellock. The remainder of 11 September was spent reinforcing the beach head, as well as loading valuable men and material into the area. Attacks by random bands of armed civilians defending their homeland and Rotgeheiman military units (most often the occasional dive bomber or two) occurred throughout the night of 11 September and into the next morning. The Fuerstenburg High Command did not expect progress to be made on the first day, so the establishment of this beach head came at quite a serendipitous shock. They valued the area taken and applied all measures in order to preserve the area, rather than advance further immediately.
International Response
The closest ally of Rotgeheim, Northern Prussia, learned of the situation almost as soon as it began. The government of Rotgeheim notified the Northern Prussian leader of the invasion of Finnmarck around midday of 11 September. A formal statement was issued by Northern Prussia later in the evening, condemning the actions taken by Fuerstenburg and declaring war against the invading nation. A division of 23,000 Northern Prussian troops, along with 300 aircraft of various sorts, armored vehicles, artillery, and the RS Löden were pledged to help throw out the invading forces out of Rotgeheim. The troops were loaded onto transport ships on 13 September and deployed to Neumarck to prepare for assisting in combat on 14 September.
A much smaller, newer nation, Opiekun, also released a statement that condemned the invasion and called for international assistance to help in Finnmarck. Although the nation did not wish to pledge forces initially, the country eventually deployed troops to help fix the increasingly desperate situation in late October.
Order of Battle on 11 September
Composition of Rotgeheiman Forces
Ground Forces
The following forces were stationed in Finnmarck during the invasion on 11 September:
VII VS-Mountain Corps (VII VS-Gebirgskorps) (Klaus Eichenberg) with four divisions:
- 6th VS-Mountain Division Preußen (Franz Schreiber)
- 13th VS-Mountain Division Dinslaken (Fedor Hampel)
- 26th VS-Mountain Division Langemarck (Jürgen Siegling)
- 29th VS-Cavalry Division Nibelungen (Martin Kohlroser)
The following unit arrived in Rotgeheim on 13 September:
30th VS-Airborne Division Ramcke (Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke)
This unit arrived in Rotgeheim on 20 September:
40th VS-Panzergrenadier Division Mecklenburg (Erich von Weschler)
Composition of Fuerstenburg Forces
Ground Forces
The following forces were used in the invasion of Finnmarck on 11 September:
- 14th Corps (Valentin Dorfmann)
- 2nd Armored Division (Jannick Tanneberger)
- 14th Infantry Division (Johann Ausburger)
- 16th Infantry Division (Uwe Heilmann)
- 22nd Armored Division (Dietrich Streicher)
Continued Combat
Reinforcing the Beach Head
Throughout the night of 11 September and into the morning of 12 September thousands of fresh Fuerstenburg troops were offloaded onto the beach head. The Fuerstenburg High Command sought to bolster the invading unit in order to completely overrun the entirety of Finnmarck within the week. Roughly 150,000 troops were dedicated to the invasion in the first few days, although if more were required they could be pulled from the masses of waiting troops aboard the troop transports waiting offshore. Several divisions of varying roles were present on the beach head by 8:00 a.m. on 12 September.
The commanders of the Fuerstenburg units then formulated a plan to continue pushing southward. The Fuerstenburg 2nd Armored Division, along with a brigade of accompanying cavalry, were to advance straight up the hills and into the defending troops of the 26th VS-Mountain Division Langemarck. Fuerstenburg intelligence had accurately suggested that the Rotgeheiman troops defending the hills were too thinly stationed to adequately defend themselves, leading to the formulation of this attack strategy. After a hole had been punched in the lines of Langemarck, infantry formations would move in to fortify the salient created, afterwards spreading out in all directions.
Advancing Southward
The 2nd Armored Division rolled out at 10:00 a.m. on 12 September. They ran headlong into the defending Rotgeheiman troops, and although it was mainly infantry defending the hills, stiff resistance was met by the attackers. 105 mm to 150 mm howitzers were utilized as anti-tank weaponry by the Rotgeheiman troops, and proved themselves to be quite successful against the inadequate armor of the Fuerstenburg tanks. As the infantry complement to the 2nd Armored Division caught up to the stalled advance of the tanks brutal hand-to-hand combat ensued. Rotgeheiman and Fuerstenburg troops met in bloody fisticuffs on the hilltops as artillery fired near-point-blank at armor. At roughly 11:45 a.m. the majority of Rotgeheiman forces had retreated from the area, but not before receiving heavy casualties. Rotgeheiman troops of the 26th VS-Mountain Division retreated to the outskirts of Bellock to link up with the rest of their unit, as well as elements of the newly-arrived 13th VS-Mountain Division Dinslaken.
Fuerstenburg armor chased the retreating Rotgeheiman soldiers until a few kilometers past the Schillinger River, at which point they were commanded to halt and wait for the slow-moving infantry. At roughly 4:00 p.m. the entire advance of Fuerstenburg had halted due to the waiting for the infantry formations, and most of Langemarck that was stationed on the hills had successfully retreated to Bellock. Only the 26th Mountain Regiment, which had directly engaged the 2nd Armored Division, sustained high casualties. Other elements of Langemarck sustained minimal casualties on their retreat to Bellock. The 2nd Armored Division, 16th Infantry Division, and 218th Cavalry Brigade established a field headquarters a few kilometers south of the Schillinger River and amassed what artillery units they could for a bombardment of Bellock (which itself lay only few kilometers south of the headquarters). At the close of 12 September, the Fuerstenburg military had further pushed back the defending troops.
City of Bellock
Importance
The importance of Bellock was near astronomical to both belligerents. It was one of the largest cities in the very northernmost part of Finnmarck, and was essentially the only way for Fuerstenburg troops to continue their southward advance. All roads from the beach area that Fuerstenburg established ran into Bellock, and the city itself (including the surrounding villages and suburbs) essentially blocked the path of the invading troops. The city had to be taken by Fuerstenburg troops if they were to continue their incursion into Finnmarck.
Rotgeheiman troops valued Bellock just as much, if not more. The city was a blockade. It served as a rallying point in which Rotgeheiman formations could be deployed from, it blocked the advance of the Fuerstenburg invaders due to its location, and the airstrips and railroads in the surrounding area transported needed men and materiel. Although the four division-strong VII VS-Gebirgskorps was responsible for this part of Finnmarck, the 26th and 13th VS-Mountain Divisions were the only formations that were able to defend the area. With the capture of Bellock, Fuerstenburg troops were guaranteed vital institutions that accompanied this city that could lead to a gain in momentum, and subsequently the conquering of Finnmarck.
The Battle
The battle began on 12 September 1914 when Fuerstenburg forces entered the northern half of the city. Hostilities began quickly between combatants, not only involving individual soldiers but also artillery, ground attack aircraft, bombers, and assault guns. Fuerstenburg forces were initially repulsed by the strong Rotgeheiman defenses, but the inclusion of two new Fuerstenburg divisions broke proved to be more than a match. These new divisions assisted in destroying the 13th VS-Mountain Division Dinslaken, reducing the combat strength of Rotgeheim by about 20,000. As Fuerstenburg forces pressed deeper into Bellock, the situation for Rotgeheim became increasingly hopeless. On 21 September 1914 the commander of the 2nd VS-Mountain Army, General der Gebirgstruppe Adalbert Boettcher, ordered all remaining Rotgeheiman troops out of Bellock. From the 21 to 27 September the 26th VS-Mountain Division Langemarck and 30th VS-Airborne Division Ramcke, which were mostly combat ineffective during this period, gathered up as much men and materiel as possible and headed south to be evacuated via airlift. The 40th VS-Panzergrenadier Division Mecklenburg, which was still at nearly full strength, provided covering action for the other divisions until it finally pulled out of Bellock on 28 September.
Aftermath
The pulling out of all three remaining Rotgeheiman divisions offered no obstacle for the advancing forces of Fuerstenburg. Fuerstenburg forces entered the city on the 28th of September. The military of Fuerstenburg seized the two airstrips to the south of Bellock and immediately began repairs to get them running once more. A strong perimeter was created around the city quickly, with most of the armor of the 2nd and 22nd Armored Divisions being placed on the southern side of the perimeter. Rotgeheiman counterattacks were expected in the next few days, but no Rotgeheiman units remained within several kilometers of Bellock.
