Stasno-Dagelian War

The Stasno-Dagelian War, also known as the South Zevgorian war, was an armed conflict between the Union of Socialist Republics of Stasnov, supporting the autonomist de jure Dagelian-controlled People's Republic of South Zevgoria, and the Republic of Dagelia. The war officially began on the 14th of October 2015, when Dagelia initiated a military intervention into the autonomist, unrecognised People's Republic of South Zevgoria, to regain control over the area. The South Zevgorian militias actively resisted the Dagelian advance, and the People's Council of the Republic made an official request to the USRS for military aid. The Stasnovan Union responded by sending the 27th Army over the border to aid the militias on October 11th. Heavy fighting ensued between Stasnovan and Dagelian forces, while the Zevgorian militias were mostly relegated to secondary roles. The USRS and Dagelia officially declared war on each other on October 15th.

Though the units of the 27th Army first sent into South Zevgoria were initially outnumbered by Dagelian forces, the easily achieved Stasnovan air superiority meant that Dagelian units were under constant harassment from the air. By the end of October, the majority of the 27th Army had crossed into the combat zone and the Stasnovans outnumbered the Dagelians by a decent margin, though still not 2-to-1. The Dagelians made several localised counter attacks between the 12th and 18th of Novemeber, particularly around the city of Chekhanvali, taking advantage of the fresh reinforcments that had arrived from Dagelia proper. While the counter-attacks failed to achieve any significant objectives, the managed to stem Stasnovan progress. However, as more Stasnovan reinforcements arrived, the Dagelians were forced into a retreat. The Dagelian retreat turned into a rout after their decisive defeat in the Battle of Kokoity on November 28th, and after one more week of fighting, the Dagelian government officially capitulated on the 5th of December.

The Giorgadze government was forced to step down in Dagelia, while Giorgadze himself fled into a self-imposed isolation in Elesar. A provisional government took power in Dagelia on December 7th, and was forced to denounce any and all claims on South Zevgoria. On December 10, a referendum was held in South Zevgoria to decide wether to remain independent or join the Stasnovan Union as a Semi-Autonomous Socialist Republic. With a 81% voter turn out, the results showed a 84.7% in favor of joinning the USRS, and South Zevgoria officially became a SR on December 20th after the necessary preparations were made. Meanwhile, the Dagelian provisional government successfully carried out national elections on December 23rd, which elected the Socialist Labour Party, a newlly formed centre-left to left-wing party to power.

Background
Dagelia had always been a part of the Stasnovan Empire, and though several unsuccessful uprusings to achieve independence were attempted (1701, 1814, 1905), they all ended in brutal suppression. The first time the people of Dagelia broke free from Stasnovan rule was during the Stasnovan Revolution, with the independent People's Republic of Dagelia being proclaimed in 1915. The new nation was led by the local Socialist Worker's Party, and chose not to join the equally young Union of Socialist Republics of Stasnov, but to remain an independent socialist state. The small People's Republic endured throughout the 20th Century, but was deeply shaken by the 1970s Stasno-Gorbatovic split and the ensuing reactionary uprisings in Lavikona, Elesar and Granzery. The extreme Rykovist faction of the SWP managed to secure power and enforce hardliner policies during the 80s and early 90s. Paranoid of a Stasnovan intervention, the SWP refused to back down even after the reconciliation of the USRS and the UPRG.

The SWP's totalitarian policies proved to bring about their downfall. The extreme political survailance on the military by the Party's agents alienated a number of high-ranking officers, some of which, took action. In 1994, the People's Republic of Dagelia was dissolved by a military coup d’etat commanded by General Gujar Kurashvili, who established the Republic of Dagelia under a military junta. In 1996, the military handed political power to the National Party led by Davit Giorgadze, a newlly formed, right-wing, economically neo-liberal and socially conservative political party. The change was viewed positively by a large portion of the population at first, but the hard neo-liberal reforms of the Giorgadze government destroyed the country's public services and privatized much of its infrastucture and most of the economy in general. The result was that influential military men and politicians among Giorgadze's associates formed an economic oligarchy, hoarding the nation's wealth. Much of the general populace was left in extremely poor condition, and starvation was common.

Massive protests took place, but Giorgadze's government employed the tactics of the SWP and the Junta and cracked down brutally on the protestors, while the State Security Service (SUS in Dagelian), the new secret police, was omnipresent in every day life. Giorgadze took special care to suppress Stasnovan minorities in the country's north, who he suspected of harbouring separatist and Communist elements. In 2003, an armed, pro-Stasnov far-left group, called the Zevgorian Liberation Front, emerged in the Stasnovan-majority provice of South Zevgoria (North Zevgoria is part of Stasnov). The ZLF denounced both the old SWP and Giorgadze, and aimed for South Zevgoria to secede from Dagelia and join the USRS. The ZLF quickly gathered popular support, especially by Stasnovan nationals. In late August of 2003, the ZLF launched an uprising in the region, and drove away much of the unmotivated, underpaid and underarmed Dagelian Army garrison, establishing an de facto autonomous state. The unrecognized People's Republic of South Zevgoria has since then been engaged in a standoff with the central Dagelian government, that seeks to retake the province from rebel hands. The last armed clashes ended in 2005, after a ceasfire was signed. The conflict between Dagelia and the Stasnovan-backed Zevgorian Front has been the reason of a serious decrease of Stasno-Dagelian relations in the years following the 2003 separatist uprising.

Stasnovan interests and involvement
The Stasnovan Union was always vigilant on the Dagelian border ever since the Stasno-Gorbatovic Split. It has been rumoured that the WSP's extreme totalitarian policies and refusal to backtrack on them during the 80s had brought the USRS close to invading the small country, only to be talked out of it by Gorbatovic diplomats. Said rumours have been dismissed by the Stasnovan government and state news networks as fearmongering and propaganda. Stasnovan minorities in the country had been a target of harassment since the Split, and the situation didn't improve with Giorgadze's government. If anything, it had become even worse, with SUS-led pogroms in areas like South Zevgoria that led to dozens and at times hundreds of deaths. Many Communist Party of the Stasnovan Union officials have been quite outspoken regarding the need of Stasnovan intervention in Dagelia to ensure the safety of the Stasnovan minorities in South Zevgoria, as well as their properties.

KGB and GRU activity in the Stasnovan-populated parts of Dagelia had always been suspected. A Stasnovan national was caught by SUS agents in South Zevgoria in 2001, and was accused of being a spy, but died of unknown reasons while in holding. A more prominent example was when during the 2003 Uprising, a group of heavily armed individuals who, dressed in a mixture of civillian and military clothing and heavily armed, secured government offices and key areas such as the Chekhavali City Council Building. The Dagelian authorities and some independent news outlets have claimed that these men were Stasnovan Spetsnaz GRU operators, based on their equipment and apparent professionalism, that starkly contrasted the gear and skill of the Zevgorian Liberation Front Militias. Despite the accusations, however, hard proof of active Stasnovan involvement has yet to be discovered.

Invasion of South Zevgoria
At 5 AM on October 13th, Dagelian tube and rocket artillery units of the 2nd Mechanised Infantry Brigade, the 1st Armoured Brigade, and the 351st and 352nd Separate Artillery Battalions, opened fire on South Zevgorian territory. Targets included the three major cities of Kokoity, Mienta and Chekhanvali (the South Zevgorian capital), as well as militia checkpoints near the internal border between Dagelian and ZLF territories. Notably, the Chekhavali Intenrational Airport was spared of bombardment, as it was to be used to ferry in the soldiers of the Dagelian 6th Airborne Battalion.

Stasnovan intervention
The Stasnovan Commissar of Defence issued a declaration of war shortly after the initial invasion, and troops of the 27th Guards Army began entering South Zevgoria on October 5th in order to assist in the defense of the region.

Following the cessation of hostilities, it was revealed that a team of R-DARK Rangers from Brytene had deployed alongside the Stasnovans, operating in the area around Chekhavali in order to disrupt Dagelian logistical lines.

International Reactions

 * - The Witenagmot released a statement condemning the Dagelian invasion of South Zevgoria as a 'travesty of modern principles', and pledged to support the South Zevgorian war effort both financially and militarily, alongside Stasnov.
 * - Emperor Dimitri II denounced Stasnov's actions as "a blatant attack on the sovereignty of Dagelia...and a clear statement from the Stasnovan government that they are willing to use military force to fulfill a longstanding goal in the annexation of South Zevgoria." Prime Minister Leonid Usenko also stated that the "Bolshevik actions in Dagelia reek of hypocritical imperialism." Military forces on the Elesar-Stasnov border were placed on high alert for the duration of the conflict.
 * - Chancellor Eric Schreiner had already expressed that Volgaria would not support, nor recognize the independence of South Zevgoria. The Chancellor later condemned Stasnov for intervening and partaking in an "illegal invasion against the Dagelian state" and offered support in the forms of military and financial aid to Dagelia. The Volgarian government continues to recognize South Zevgoria as part of Dagelia.
 * - Chancellor Eric Schreiner had already expressed that Volgaria would not support, nor recognize the independence of South Zevgoria. The Chancellor later condemned Stasnov for intervening and partaking in an "illegal invasion against the Dagelian state" and offered support in the forms of military and financial aid to Dagelia. The Volgarian government continues to recognize South Zevgoria as part of Dagelia.