Obrona Liberation Army

### Legal Status

Recognized (since VA 188, 16th Wedmath) by the Dalish Republic as part of the Folksguard;Recognized (since VA 189, 2nd Thrimidge) by the Autonomy of Obrona as official army.

## Military

### Leadership

General Felman Garthneer †, General Gertha Beren, Marshal Katya Hoxha

### Members Amount

10000 soldiers ca, at least 30 catapults, 20 ballistas and 15 bombards

## History

### Foundation Reasons

People's resistance to Al-Kazeem in eastern Dale

The **Obrona Liberation Army** or **OLA** is a paramilitary association with partial recognition and support by the Dalish Republic, operating in the provinces of Obrona, Ankorien-Poltzen, Midmark and Idnoyem. Its aims are the utter destruction of the Al-Kazeen Brigades and the reconquest of the occupied territories.

## History

While the Dalish Republic was busy fixing the change of leadership in Woodland Realm alongside Dorwinion, and writing the Act of Constitution of the Commonwealth of Rhovanion, many citizens started to disapprove the lack of action against the uprising terrorist groups in the east. Hence, part of the Folksguard that had led the revolution separated from it in Forelithe month of VA 188, and officially organized into the OLA the 6th Wedmath, crossing the Carnen, border between the safe Dalish territories and the area claimed as theirs by the Al-Kazeem brigades. After the self-proclamation of IISD and the State of Alert declared by the Republic in the 16th Wedmath, the OLA got partial recognition by the Republic, receiving economical and military support from the RAF (Republic Armed Forces). At the end of Wedmath, the fought areas were mainly outside of the IISD main territory, except for intense guerrilla actions around the Al-Kazeem village of Tal Afar.

### Battle of Tal Afar

   The 23rd of Halimath, General Garthneer's army launched an attack on Tal Afar village. With roughly 900 men, 13 catapults, 10 ballistas and 5 bombard prototypes made with blueprints given by the Proudhaven Library, alongside 50 men equipped with the first handgun prototypes, OLA started bombing Tal Afar. The first artillery battery utterly destroyed the town, and despite being only 5, the bombards dealed enough damage to be considered decisive in the first phase of surprise attack. The few Al-Kazeem brigadists survivors to this first action tried to charge against the archers, crossbowers and handgunners displayed on the neighboring hills, but the high fire rates of bows and crossbows, and the destructive power of handguns extinguished the attack before that any damage could be dealt. After a second artillery burst on the ruins, the melee group advanced through the torn village, suffering one soldier loss due to a last survivor lurking in a destroyed house. The battle, known also as "massacre of Tal Afar", showed the incredible superiority of even small amounts of gunpowder-powered pieces on traditional warfare weapons, and allowed the southern armies of OLA to advance deep inside the IISD territory.

In the same days, the northern army, led by marshal Gertha Beren, managed to get 30 miles near to Al-Fataq town, while Dorwinion sent troops invading the south of IISD territory. Local uprisings against Al-Kazeem Brigades were born around Al-Jarut and Al-Fataq.

### First Battle of the Carnen

In the first days of Blotmath of VA 188, marshal Beren and general Garthneer tried to organize a coordinated attack on the brigade under the command of Imran Zakayev, former emperor of the Commonwealth converted to Illahvatarism for the opportunity of retaking the rule. Despite all the preparations, Zakayev's army intercepted Garthneer's one at the border between Dale and the IISD, near the Carnen river, and engaged battle. Garthneer's tactic tried to optimize the terrain configuration, by placing the artillery on a hill and the infantry in the thin vale between that one and another hill in front of it, to face more easily the better armored brigadists. Although initially the presence of artillery gave him a small advantage, the illahvatarists managed to push them back and even destroy one of the artillery pieces on the hill. Only with the arrival of Gertha Beren's reinforcements Zakayev could be defeated, and forced to retreat with the remains of his army at the border of the dwarven territory. The balance of the battle is considered to be 900 dead soldiers and 1 catapult lost for OLA, that had deployed, considering both armies, 3600 soldiers, 3 bombards, 13 ballistas and 10 catapults, and 800 dead soldiers over the 2000 deployed by Zakayev.

The pyrrhic victory granted OLA a new unified first line and a safer rearguard, protected also by newly arrived reinforcements of the regular army. In the same occasion, OLA was integrated in the Republic Armed Forces as a special operations group, causing many people to join them due to propaganda.

### Winter Offensive

Between 18th and 30th of Foreyule of year VA 188, OLA and the Dorwinion army directed a joint attack on the entire front. In the north, lieutenant Petar of OLA destroyed some last resistance sacs and besieged Al-Fataq, cutting their supplies; in the centre of the front marshal Beren advanced deeply in the enemy territory, and in the south general Garthneer managed to join forces with Gandalf, strategos of Dorwinion, isolating the illahvatarist cells working in the dalish mainland, and advanced towards South Ghamiyah, religious capital of IISD. The "properly said" Winter Offensive ended with the First Battle of Al-Fataq and the Battle of South Ghamiyah.

### Battle of South Ghamiyah

Fought between 11th and 17th of Afteryule, in VA 189, the battle saw heavy artillery bursts during the first 5 days, mainly by OLA forces, that significantly reduced the height of the city walls. Also, part of the city was destroyed by these first attacks. The morning of the 6th day a new artillery burst, focused on the east side of the city, made the main gate fall, and the armies split in two for urban combat. Inch by inch, OLA conquered the city with many losses, expecially due to the terrorists using IEDs to slow them and blow them up. In the end, though, all the forces managed to converge into the main square, and prepared for the assault to the mosque. Kazeem, that was inside, as soon as he heard the enemies approching the mosque, wore belts filled in IEDs and lit them, blowing up the mosque when OLA came in. The attack caused the death of general Garthneer. The city was conquered, but OLA lost 1600 fighters of 4000 that partecipated in the assault, while Dorwinion lost 800 over roughly 5000. The leadership of the southern troops of OLA passed to marshal Katya Hoxha, while marshal Gertha Beren took the role of general of the Army.

After the battle, in 10 days the whole front managed to advance reaching Al-Jarut, beginning its siege. Meanwhile, Al-Kazeem and IISD leadership passed to Ibrahim al-Masri. Armies from the Republic of Veronae, an authonomous city-state in Dorwinion and allied to Dale and their overlords, destroyed the isolated cells on the shores of the Carnen, in the Second Battle of the Carnen.

Between 27th Afteryule and 12th Astron of VA 189, a light siege was put on Al-Jarut. The intentions of OLA were more forcing them to surrender rahter than brutally conquering a city inhabited by thousands of people and destroying it in a mass slaughter. After months of siege, the new leader of the IS, Ibrahim al-Masri, surrendered, *de facto* marking the end of the Illahvatarist State. The last sac of resistance was around Al-Fataq. After that, the dalish territories east of the Carnen were organized in two special Autonomies, one under control of OLA, and the other under the control of the Republic and the surrendered Illahvatarists.

Finally, at the end of VA 189, Al-Fataq fell too, under the hits of Obrona and Jarut artillery, now powered with IEDs to force the defenses of the mountain village, while special squads conquered the city through the underground tunnels used by its soldiers to attack the OLA positions. The fall of Al-Fataq marked the actual end of the war.

## Politics

Most of the OLA fighters were revolution veterans, mostly of the political left wing, that aimed for a complete refusal of any form of monarchy or oppression towards the working class and the farmhands, by far the majority of the Dalish population. A strong sense of patriotism binds all the members, that fight without leaving an inch of ground to the illahvatarist oppressors. They have the highest population support in the provinces of Dale (surprisingly, since it wasn't affected by the war), Bardhaven, Midmark and Idnoyem.