Battle of Little Rock

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The Battle of Little Rock (Branderlandish: Die Schlacht von Kleiner Stein) was a battle during World War I in Xinmei. The battle took place off the coast of the Zabeta State as a naval engagement and later a landfall along the beaches of Xinmei.

### Prelude

After a series of defeats to the Iron Curtain, the Medietas was largely controlled by Xinmei forces. To change this, allied Iron high command (mostly staffed with Ninhundish officers at this time) decided on a three stage operation to put the initiative back into their hands. To keep from Ninhundish troops being overstretched attempting to defend their territory. As such, the majority of the troops being put on offensive duties would be Galavarian, as they had the most troops readily available in the summer of 1915. They would use Ninhundish transports, along with a screen of the bulk of the Ninhundish Navy to secure the logistical tail of the operation. What they could never have realized, is this is exactly what the Xinmei high command wanted to happen, a large portion of the iron navy in one place.

### Naval Engagement

The joint force reached the island with minimal harassments from the Xinmei Navy, and began landing operations without a hitch. Reports from the island were that resistance was minimal, and would be mopped up in a matter of days. on the morning of the 30th (5 days after the start of landing operations) the first Xinmei ships were spotted. [insert what Nin did here]. After the engagement, the iron curtains Navy was forced to withdraw or be overtaken. Not wanted to risk their prized navy over foreign troops, on the morning of the 1st Galavarian and Eladistan troops woke up to find that their naval protection had fled.

### Ground Campaign

Starting in the early morning hours of the 26th, after one day of bombardment, Galavarian troops made landfall to a deserted beachhead. As they moved further island for the rest of the day, they would be harried by smaller scale Xinmei attacks across their line. By the end of the first 5 days, thousands of troops would pour onto the island, and Xinmei resistance, rather then crumble, would increase in frequency and scale. By the end of the 5th day the Xenmei line was fully felt out, and it appeared to be poised at the flanks of the Iron front advance, targeting the beachhead. After the naval engagement the reinforcements, and more importantly supplies stopped coming to the island. on the 2nd of October Xinmei forces would begin pouring troops onto the island. On the 3rd, the noose was tightened on Iron curtain troops as attacks slowly closed in on the beaches. By the 7th, the Iron curtain forces had retreated to a series of fortifications on the center of the island. some 60 thousand men (53k Galavarian, or two divisions after taken casualties, and 7k Eladistani, or one regiment) were now trapped with no were to go. After a grueling 13 month siege, the final Iron curtain units would lay down their arms on November 6th, 1916. Several attempts were made by both sides to turn the tide of the battle. The Ninhundish Navy would mount a resupply operation in December that would give the beleaguered troops much needed supply and reinforcements. Similar operations would happen in February of the next year. This mission would ultimately be abandoned by March to combat the Xinmei Invasion of Ninhundland. The resupplies would be a godsend, landing fresh troops with plenty of supplies. Spearheaded by Eladistani naval infantry, they would break through the Xinmei line and open up a corridor to the sea for a period of 2 weeks. After this point, the gap would be closed again and Iron Curtain forces would once again find themselves trapped. While the Iron curtain troops would be isolated, they would prove to be a nightmare for underequipped Xinmei troops to dislodge. What broke the fighting spirit of the defenders was the death of Major General Elias Köhler, who kept the force together under months of grueling siege. He was killed on October 5th 1916 by a Xinmei sniper while surveying the line. Many attacks to finish off resistance after the Invasion of Ninhundland would go horrendously bad, as the troops on the island had the majority of their supplies and reinforcements re directed to that front. After the fighting was done, some 16 thousand troops were taken prisoner, a mix of Galavarian and Eledastani. 3 thousand would die on the trip back to Xinmei, as they were on the verge of starvation when they were captured.

### Aftermath

The exact number of Iron Curtain troops captured is heavily disputed. Many sources say that when troops were injured during the later parts of the siege, they would turn themselves over to the Xinmei troops in the hopes of better medical treatment. An unknown amount of these men were either killed, died before reaching the line, or were left to their fate by Xinmei forces. While Xinmei forces won the battle on paper, it is largely argued that the subbornness of the defenders and the numerous resupply attempts caused the Xinmei logistical system to overstretch itself, allowing for Iron Curtain forces to regroup and push back. This battle would be used in the lead up to World War II to stoke anti Ninhundish sentiment in Galavaria.