Operation Orion Faithful

== Operation Orion Faithful ==
Operation Orion Faithful was the codename given for the Confederate States' offensive campaign to reacquire territory that the Appalachian Republic had lost to Seaboard following the Albany Accords and the CSA's subsequent annexation of Appalachia. Operation Orion Faithful was a major campaign of the Seaboard-American Civil War.
== Background ==
The operation was a strategic response by the CSA to reclaim territories lost by the Appalachian Republic to Seaboard, following the Albany Accords and the subsequent annexation of Appalachia by the CSA. The offensive, led by CSA General Robert Thompson, aimed to secure northeastern Pennsylvania, including key urban centers such as Scranton and State College, and challenged Seaboard's hold on the region.
By early 2026, the CSA was dealing with considerable dissatisfaction within the Pennsylvania commonwealth, much of which was directed at what the citizens of Pennsylvania saw as a mismanaged authority of the region. This was especially evident by the region's disdain for unelected placeholder governor Laquez Robinson, whose rugged political changes and haphazard way of dealing with Seaboard units in Pennsylvania eventually led to his removal by the CSA's central leaders. Following this, Nicholas Rossi was elected by a military council in Norfolk as the second Confederate Governor of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth. Striking influential Appalachian politicians only authorized Rossi's position under the condition that Seaboard's forces in Pennsylvania would be expelled.
== First Month of the Offensive ==
On 1 July 2026, the first offensive commenced when CSA launched an offensive with 35,000 ground troops against Philadelphia. The CSA forces came at Philadelphia from the southeast in New Jersey and the west in Pennsylvania, engaging with the city which held up to 28,000 Seaboard troops. The initial days of battle involved surrounding the city by the CSA and attempts to cut off major supply lines, as well as creating a no-fly zone around the city. These proved to be highly effective when coupled with the CSA's superior reconnaissance and understanding of the layout of Seaboard's defense. Seaboard General Lyons Russel presided over the city's defense, and he was able to consolidate supply lines into a single, uninterrupted route. For the first week, Seaboard outlasted the CSA's offensive.
On 8 July, the CSA simultaneously launched an invasion of Scranton. General Russel began leading a duel defense in these regions, but began to have difficulty managing the two defensives as routes between the two cities began to be compromised. By 10 July, Russel was ordered to focus on Philadelphia while Northern Army Commander Serena Kang was stationed in Scranton to lead its defense. On 15 July, State College came under siege by Confederate Forces under General Carlos Glasson with reinforcements from the 3rd West Appalachian Brigade under Colonel John Chambers. By 20 July, State College was liberated when Commander General Kang made the decision to withdraw forces from the county and consolidate them into Scranton. At the same time, Philadelphia's front grew deadlier following a feigned retreat from the CSA. Lyons Russel anticipated this, but his reconfigured defense of the city, which involved centralizing forces along the Schuykill river, proved ineffective as CSA Marines made a series of surprise attacks from the Northwest across the river, taking advantage of the city's weakened perimeter farther north.
On 24 July, Seabaord's Northern Army Corps' units in Scranton were nearly routed and withdrawn last minute, leading to Confederate takeover of the city. As General Kang attempted to create a new defensive farther north, her retreating forces were ambushed again by persistent Confederate Marines. Kang wished to return to New York, but Grand General Gardiner denied this as he believed her forces to be the last line of defense when it came to Philadelphia's outnumbered stand against encircling Confederate forces. On 28 July, the CSA formulated another major offensive against Syracuse, New York, stretched over their territory that spanned into the region. Kang remained with her forces in Monticello, New York, as Seaboard Generals Parth Yudhan and Devrim Erdogan formulated a strong counter-offensive. The two were successful in their repulsion of CSA forces in what became one of the bloodiest battles of Operation Orion Faithful.
== Second Month of Battling ==
In the first days of August, Russel's view of the front shifted in that he ceased to believe that it would be possible to stay in control of Philadelphia. Because of this, he rapidly centralized his units into the city to take advantage of what he believed to be Seaboard's superior urban warfare tactics. With the CSA unable to provide air support due to extreme anti-air measures taken by Russel, it came down to fighting between ground units. As Seaboard's Corps was stretched thin in terms of ammunition and artillery, Russel committed to a scorched earth tactic, and sabotaged the city's infrastructure and orchestrated extreme destruction in its urban center until 10 August, when Russel formally ordered a retreat across the Delaware. On 11 August, the CSA reigned victorious in their capture of Philadelphia despite the heavy losses incurred by both sides.
Directly after, Confederate General Thompson ordered a push by his forces into New Jersey from over the Delaware and from the south. This turned out to be costly, ineffective, and resulted in a stalemate as, on 14 August, General Serena Kang reengaged Confederate Forces in Scranton in an attempt to overtake the city with renewed, resupplied forces. Thompson was determined to commit to both fronts as well as holding off forces in west New York. However, the push north into New Jersey ended in catastrophe for the Confederate Army when Seaboard's position there proved to be far more prepared and was readily bolstered and supplied by units of the Northeastern Army Corps. However, the CSA successfully held Scranton with little difficulty, and defeated Kang's counter-offensive.
Near the end of the month, Thompson ordered a final push to purge Seaboard from Pennsylvania, as well as a continued offensive from west to east in New York despite the lack of apparent reinforcements. By the beginning of September, Pennsylvania had been completely controlled by the CSA.
== End of the Offensive and the Hudson Compromise ==
Through the first week of September, the Confederate's Fifth Army Corps suffered extreme losses in New York, particularly in Buffalo, which they narrowly managed to keep control over. Fuel and oil became in very short supply, and as it was rationed, the mobility of their ground forces was severely limited. This was not as extreme of an issue for Seaboard, who had more electric technology and oil trade routes from northern Canada. At the same time, skirmishes with the Great Lake States over territory had begun, and the conflicts the CSA faced with the New Texas Republic were stepped up as the Texans formed a new, powerful push eastward to reclaim lost territory. On 14 September, a ceasefire was formally agreed upon by both the CSA and Seaboard. Over the next two weeks, the Hudson Compromise was drafted and enacted.