Battle of Magadan

The **Battle of Magadan** (Cyrillic Russian: Магаданская битва) (Romanised Russian: Magadanskaya bitva) was the first military engagement of the Chemgotan War of Independence which lasted from August 12th until November 18th 2027, the battle starting when Igor Elmpt and his delegates of the Provisional Congress declared independence until the last remaining Russian forces within the area were subsequently quelled. The battle marked the beginning of the conflict between the separatists forces of the then Provisional Congress of Chemgota and the governmental aligned forces of the Russian Federation which ravaged the Far East. the effects of the battle caused a chain of events to occur throughout the Dalstroy region, such as the regional uprisings of Chemgotan separatists which obtained control of sizable portions of territory, which largely contributed towards the strategy of the Chemgotan forces being irregular as to collaborate with the local population to obtain a fond outlook towards supporting the rebels. This also prompted the international community, mostly from the Western powers, to send material and political assistance to the Provisional Congress with their effort to obtain freedom from Russian control. Following Russia's humiliating defeat at the Battle of Magadan, the Russian military realised that the PKCs forces were organised and proficient in the terrain and climate of the region, highly robust and versatile and enacted total war against the Chemgotan forces in a motion of despondency to contest the Chemgotan gains in the Far East.

## Background

Prior to the start of the Battle of Magadan, Magadan and the surrounding regions of the Far East were vastly affiliated with the Democratic Party of the Far East, the predecessor to the more nationalistic and militant Provisional Congress of Chemgota which was declared on August 12th 2027 and unilaterally declared independence from the Russian Federation due to popular regional support prompting calls for independence and overall discontent with Moscow's poor handling and administration of the northeastern portions of the Far Eastern Federal District for decades, this also circumcised with various politically-motivated clashes and violence which broke out within Magadan and surrounding settlements throughout the region, altering regional affairs significantly in favour for Igor Elmpt's movement, as a result. The Magadan Riots occurred which resulted in the Magadan Massacre and the eventual Chemgotan declaration of independence being announced on August 12th, on the same day Chemgota declared itself an independent country and formed the Provisional Congress of Chemgota, the Battle of Magadan was argued to have began at the same time officially, as various pro-Russian and pro-Chemgotan demonstrators clashed within the streets of Magadan, with the local law enforcement being powerless to quell the uprisings which came and ultimately being divided between political ideals as well. This caused the local law enforcement to be effectively dissolved, and as a result the newly self-proclaimed Chemgotan government stood into position to mediate problems within Magadan, however, these problems were unsolved as the Russian military quickly dispatched nearby garrison units and ordered them to launch an offensive directed at the city of Magadan which was held under Chemgotan control, thus resulting in the initial stages of the Battle of Magadan.

During the initial stages, the Chemgotan military was largely disorganised and ill-prepared to face a more professionalised and organised military fighting force to its fullest capacity, the early Chemgotan Defence Force was largely comprised of civilian volunteers and fighters which were mostly supporters of the Provisional Congress of Chemgota and members of the Democratic Party of the Far East prior to the declaration of independence. However, a significant advantage held by the Chemgotan Militia and Partisan forces in Magadan was their knowledge of the layout of the city along with the surrounding hinterland regions and overall survivalist and rifling training, in which much of the residents of the Far East processed as necessities to live and survive the harsh conditions of the Far East. These denoting factors were a prominent component in the initial defence of Magadan from Russian forces, as the Chemgotan Militia and Partisan units which were formed were largely based on their individual skills and sheer determination to aid in the defence of the city, alongside the volunteer fighters were various civilians which aided in erecting defences and barricades to prevent the Russian forces from advancing using the main roads from the north of Magadan's suburbs in which the Russian forces could not anticipate a stiff resistance from the people of Magadan being completely caught off-guard as a result of these actions. Ultimately, the threat of Russian success was managed and were essentially eliminated as a problem, with the Chemgotan Defence Force enlisting various soldiers and forming the first divisions of the Chemgotan Ground Force as an organised fighting force.

The Russian forces, comprising of around 30,000 soldiers, which were deployed to the region in the early months of the year to commence annual arctic military drills in order to professionalise and train Siberian units within the Russian military to be adequate when fighting in harsh conditions, although the training was cut short as 30,000 forces, mostly consisting of conscripts were sent to Magadan in order to crush the rebellious uprising from the newly independent Provisional Congress of Chemgota. The Russian forces were tasked with fortifying their positions outside the city before proceeding to launch an assault from the north in order to capture Magadan. The operation was led by General Sergei Petrov, who had previously served in the Russian military's special forces and was widely acclaimed for his knowledge of the surrounding region amongst his troops, however these claims were put to the test once the Russian military commenced its assault on the largely fortified and protected city of Magadan, which numbered in presumably tens of thousands of armed supporters which volunteered to serve and aid in the defence of Magadan, as a result of this, Sergei Petrov requested further reinforcements, but due to logistical problems and also the rough terrain and unpredictable weather patterns the Far East maintains, the further delivery of Russian forces would take weeks if not months to arrive along the Kolyma Highway. Nevertheless, Russian forces under Sergei Petrov launched a series of coordinated and planned assaults directed on the northernmost suburbs of Magadan which resulted in mixed outcomes, the Russian forces, overall successful in achieving their objectives soon found themselves engaged in a series of skirmishes with the rebel forces which proved to be difficult in order to continue their attack on the city itself, these skirmishes and the commencing of the Russian attack on Magadan itself provoked military hostilities to flair between the newly established Provisional Congress of Chemgota and the Russian Federation, thus starting the Battle of Magadan and the Chemgotan War of Independence as a whole, arguably.