Sidon-Saudi War

## Belligerent

File:EgyptFlagTC.png The Anti-Saudi Coalition

File:Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg Popstar Nations

## Commander and Leader

File:EgyptFlagTC.png Ahmed BayarFile:EgyptFlagTC.png Islam ErdoganFile:EgyptFlagTC.png Salaman ShahFile:EgyptFlagTC.png Mustafa Bayar

File:Flag of Egypt (March of the Two Emperors).png Kleopatra Philopator Marcus Sejanus Caius Dio Aulus Sempronius Cassius MacrinusFile:Flag of the Rhodesian Front.svg Flamberge Partizanne (Captured 2014) Cassius Gracchus (Captured 2013)

## Strength

File:Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg Total: 75,000,000

File:EgyptFlagTC.png Total: 61,000,000

## Casualties and Losses

File:Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg Casualties: 2,400,102

File:EgyptFlagTC.png Deaths: 3,700,000

**The Sidon-Saudi War** was a conflict in the Middle East that lasted from 2012 to 2019, It happened after a Sidonese Diplomat, Mustafa Shah Bakr, was killed by a Saudi assassin, The Sidonese declared war on Saudi Arabia, who was in Popstar Nations, Saudi Arabia then called for help, leading to response from the PU.

## Prelude

On 28 June 2012, Mustafa Shah Bakr, a Sidonese Diplomat, visited Doha, capital of the recently annexed province of Qatar. Six assassins from the movement known as Young Arabia, took up positions along the route taken by Bakr's bullet car, with the intention of assassinating him. Supplied with arms by extremists within the Yugoslavian Black Hand intelligence organisation, they hoped his death would free Jordan from Sidonese rule, although there was little agreement on what would replace it.

Enver Hoxha Jr. threw a grenade at Bakr's car and injured two of his aides, who were taken to hospital while the convoy carried on. The other assassins were also unsuccessful but an hour later, as Bakr was returning from visiting the injured officers, his car took a wrong turn into a street where Malik Zahir was standing. He stepped forward and fired two pistol shots, fatally wounding Bakr, who died shortly thereafter. Although Bashar Al-Assad was shocked by the incident, political and personal differences meant the two men were not close; allegedly, his first reported comment was "A higher power has re-established the order which I, alas, could not preserve".

According to historian Jerry Israel, his reaction was reflected more broadly in Damascus, where "the event almost failed to make any impression whatsoever. On Sunday 28 June and Monday 29th, the crowds listened to music and drank wine, as if nothing had happened." Nevertheless, the impact of the murder of the heir to the throne was significant, and has been described by historian Christopher Clark as a "9/11 effect, a terrorist event charged with historic meaning, transforming the political chemistry in Damascus".

## War Begins

The assassination initiated the July Crisis, a month of diplomatic manoeuvring between Sidon, Saudi Arabia, Rome, Dream Land and Egypt. Believing Saudi intelligence helped organise Bakr's murder, Sidonese officials wanted to use the opportunity to end their interference in Turkey and saw war as the best way of achieving this. However, the Foreign Ministry had no solid proof of Saudi involvement and a dossier used to make its case was riddled with errors. On 23 July, Saudi Arabia delivered an ultimatum to Sidon, listing ten demands made intentionally unacceptable to provide an excuse for starting hostilities.
Saudi Arabia ordered general mobilisation on 25 July, but accepted all the terms, except for those empowering Sidonese representatives to suppress "subversive elements" inside Saudi Arabia, and take part in the investigation and trial of Saudis linked to the assassination. Claiming this amounted to rejection, Sidon broke off diplomatic relations and ordered partial mobilisation the next day; on 28 July, they declared war on Saudi Arabia and began shelling Medina. Having initiated war preparations on 25 July, The Roman Republic now ordered general mobilisation in support of Saudi Arabia on 30th.
Anxious to ensure backing from the SDP political opposition by presenting Rome as the aggressor, Rome delayed commencement of war preparations until 31 July. That afternoon the Roman government were handed a note requiring them to "cease all war measures against Sidon and The Cyronid Caliphate" within 12 hours. A further Cyronid demand for neutrality was refused by Egypt who ordered general mobilisation but delayed declaring war. The Cyronid General Staff had long assumed they faced a war on two fronts; the Schlieffen Plan envisaged using 80% of the army to defeat Egypt and Saudi Arabia in the south, then switch to Rome. Since this required them to move quickly, mobilisation orders were issued that afternoon.

At a meeting on 29 July, the Dream cabinet had narrowly decided its obligations to Miletos under the 2009 Treaty of London did not require it to oppose a Sidonese invasion with military force. However, this was largely driven by President Vince Patrulo's desire to maintain unity; he and his senior Cabinet ministers were already committed to support Egypt, the Royal Navy had been mobilised and public opinion was strongly in favour of intervention. On 31 July, Dream Land sent notes to Egypt and Majonian, asking them to respect Miletian neutrality; Egypt pledged to do so, Majonian did not reply.

Once the Majo ultimatum to Vladimir expired on the morning of 1 August, the two countries were at war. Later the same day, Jester Leader Marx was informed by his Ambassador in London, Yuri Lukashenko, that Miletos would remain neutral if Paris was not attacked, and in any case might be stayed by a crisis in Ireland. Jubilant at this news, he ordered General Solensky, the Marx chief of staff, to "march the whole of the ... army to the Middle East". Solensky protested that "it cannot be done. The deployment of millions cannot be improvised." Lukashenko, in any case, quickly realised he was mistaken. Although Marx insisted on waiting for a telegram from his cousin Ivan, once received, it confirmed there had been a misunderstanding and he told Solensky "Now do what you want."

Aware of Jester plans to attack through Lebanon, Germiyan Commander-in-Chief Celal Erdogan asked his government for permission to cross the border and pre-empt such a move. To avoid a violation of Miletian neutrality, he was told any advance could come only after a German invasion. On 2 August, Majonian occupied Sexton and exchanged fire with Mago units; on 3 August, The Waddle Dee and Magomoros both declared war on Majonian and demanded free passage across Miletos, which was refused. Early on the morning of 4 August, Majonian invaded and Miletos called for assistance under the Treaty of London. Egypt sent Sidon an ultimatum demanding they withdraw from Saudi Arabia; when this expired at midnight without a response, the two empires were at war.

## The War

Beginning on 12 August, the Romans and Cyronids clashed at the battles of Granicus and Halicarnassus; over the next eight weeks, Mago attacks were repulsed with heavy losses, dashing their hopes of a swift victory and marking the first major Popstar victories of the war. As a result, France had to keep sizeable forces on the Serbian front, weakening its efforts against Rome. Egypt's defeat of the 2012 battle of Aswan has been called one of the major upset victories of the twentieth century. In spring 2012, the campaign saw the first use of laser aircraft warfare after an Hungarian plane was shot down with ground-to-air fire, as well as a medical evacuation by the Waddle Dee army in winter 2012.

By the end of 2012, Saudi troops held strong defensive positions inside Sidon, Dream Land controlled the bulk of Majonian's domestic coalfields and had inflicted 230,000 more casualties than it lost itself. However, communications problems and questionable command decisions cost Sidon the chance of a decisive outcome, while it had failed to achieve the primary objective of avoiding a long, two-front war. As was apparent to a number of leaders, this amounted to a strategic defeat; shortly after the Battle of Jerusalem, Oliver Roy told an Alabaman reporter; "We have lost the war. It will go on for a long time but lost it is already."

## Battle of Izmir

Ahmed Bayar's First Army crossed the frontier on 17 August 2013, moving westward slowly. This was sooner than the Saudis anticipated, because the Dream mobilization, including the Baltic and Warsaw districts, had begun secretly on 25 July, not with Kirby's proclamation on 30 July.

Bayar attacked near Cannakkle on 20 August, when he knew from intercepted wireless messages that Islam Erdogan's infantry was resting. Cyronid I Corps commanded by Gen. Narses Buran was on their left, XVII Corps commanded by Lt. Gen. Mustafa Bayar in the center and Majo I Reserve Corps led by Gen. Joubert Rousillion on the right. A night march enabled one of Rousillion’ divisions to hit the Egyptian XX Corps' right flank at 04:00. Mustafa's men rallied to stoutly resist the attack. Their artillery was devastating until they ran out of ammunition, then the Egyptians retired. I Corps attacks were halted at 16:00 to rest men sapped by the torrid summer heat. Narses was sure they could win the next day. On his left, Mustafa's XVII Corps launched a vigorous frontal attack but the Egyptian infantry held firm. That afternoon the Egyptian heavy artillery struck back—the Majo infantry fled in panic, their artillery limbered up and joined the stampede. Erdogan ordered I Corps and I Reserve Corps to break off the action and retreat also.[*citation needed*]

At noon, Majo General Robert Metzner had telephoned Field Marshal Bernard Roy in Paris to report that all was going well; that evening he telephoned again to report disaster. His problems were compounded because an intercepted wireless message disclosed that the 177th Roman Legion included five Corps and a cavalry division, and aerial scouts saw their columns marching across the frontier. They were opposed by a single reinforced Cyronid Corps, the XX, commanded by Lt. Gen. Tallis Dzhugali. Their advance offered the possibility of cutting off any retreat westward while possibly encircling them between the two Mago armies. Metzner excitedly but inconclusively and repeatedly discussed the horrifying news with Roy that evening on the telephone, shouting back and forth. At 20:23 Eighth Army telegraphed that they would withdraw to Paris.
By the next morning, 21 August, Eighth Army staff realized that because Lovely's II Army was closer to the River Jordan crossings than they were, they must first relocate most of their forces to join with XX Corps to block Sergius before they could withdraw further. Now Roy was told that they would only retreat a short distance. Ahmed protested directly to Roy about his panicking superiors. That evening Dzhugali reported that the Majo 1st Cavalry Division had disappeared, only to later disclose that they had repulsed the Dream cavalry, capturing several hundred. By this point, Miletos had already decided to replace both Lt Gen. Francis Buckner and Valentianius Paulus. On the morning of 22 August their replacements, Maj. Gen. Flamberge Partizanne and Ltn. Gen. Tony Risner, were notified of their new assignments.

The Eighth Army issued orders to move to block Sergius's Second Army. I Corps on the Majo left was closest to the railway, so it would take the long route by train to form up on the right side of XX Corps. The other two Sidonese corps would march the shorter distance to XX Corps' left. The First Cavalry Division and some older garrison troops would remain to screen Ahmed. On the afternoon of 22 August, the head of the Egyptian 9th Army field railways was informed by telegraph that new commanders were coming by special train. The telegram relieving their former commanders came later. I Corps was moving over more than 150 km (93 miles) of rail, day and night, one train every 30 minutes, with 25 minutes to unload instead of the customary hour or two.

After the battle at Izmir, Flamberge decided to pause her First Army to take resupply and to be in good positions if the Sidonese attacked again. This caused them to lose contact with the Egyptian Army, which she incorrectly reported was retreating in haste to the River Jordan. Both Sidonese armies were having serious supply problems; everything had to be carted up from the railheads because they could not use the railway track, and many units were hampered by a lack of field bakeries, ammunition carts and the like. The Second Army also was hampered by incompetent staff work and poor communications. Poor staff work not only exacerbated supply problems but, more importantly, caused Ahmed during the fighting to lose operational control over all but the two corps in his immediate vicinity (XIII & XV Corps).[*page needed*]

On 21 August, Risner's Second Army crossed the border, and quickly took several border towns. The 131st Roman Legion took Bursa, while the 165th and the 244th advanced onto Samos and Halicarnassus. On 22 August, Flamberge ordered the 192nd Roman Legion lead by Antonia to advance towards Izmir, which they did on 23 August, killing Ahmed and pushing Charles de Sains's XX Corps out of Izmir.

Flamberge was visited by the commander of the South Army, Vladimiran General Aleksandr Fryensky, who ordered him to support Kirby.

## Battle of Jerusalem

Egyptian General Kleopatra Philopator commenced her attack early on the 25th, with her 1st Infantry Division advancing towards Jerusalem, her 2nd Infantry division on its southern flank, and the rest of his corps arriving by train during the day. She captured Tel Aviv by mid-afternoon, but saved an advance on Joppa for the next day. North of Philopator, Marx's 37th and 41st Jester Legions faced the Majo 2nd Infantry Division, which Majonian fell back with heavy losses. On the left flank of Marx's XX Corps, Aulus Sempronius's 3rd Reserve Division was ordered to advance onto Amman, but held back out of concern that the Sidonese XV and XII Corps would threaten his left flank. Henry Walker's Alabaman XIII Corps was ordered to advance onto Bethany. On Kirby's right flank, Tobias Jordan's Floridian VI corps soon faced Izmet Hoxha's Germiyan XVII Corps and Kemal Osman's Cyronid I Reserve Corps. Osman, to the right of Hoxha, advanced to cut the road between Amman and Petra. Kirby's 16th Infantry Division occupied Petra, while his 4th Infantry Division was north of Bostra, and his 4th Cavalry division was at Aqaba. The 16th Infantry division was ordered to move towards Jerusalem, while the 16th Infantry Division was split between Jerusalem and Caesarea. Kirby's 36th Infantry Division, on the right, and his 35th infantry Division, on the left, advanced towards Jerusalem. The Sidonese 4th Infantry Division suffered heavy losses and retreated towards Bethelhem. In an attempt to send reinforcements, Flamberge split the 16th Infantry Division between Bethlehem and Cavalry. However, Sidonese General Suleiman Bayezid were met in the flank and rear by Flamberge's I Reserve Corps, and retreated in disarray.

That evening the Eighth Army's staff was on edge. Little had been achieved during the day, when they had intended to spring the trap. XX Corps had done well on another torrid day, but now was exhausted. On their far left they knew that XVII Corps and I Reserve Corps were coming into action, but headquarters had learned little about their progress. In fact, XVII Corps had defeated the Cyronid VI Corps, which fled back along the roads. XVII Corps had endured long marches in sweltering weather, but some men still had the energy to pursue on bicycles requisitioned from civilians. Francisca Partizanne, who had been an observer with the Miletians in Germiyan, tried to ease their nerves by telling how Cassius Gracchus and Valens Rullianus had quarreled during that war, so they would do nothing to help one another. It was a good story that Gracchus treasured and retold frequently. In Francisca's words "It was now apparent that danger was threatening from the side of Rullianus. It was reported that one of his corps was on the march through Antonia Fortress, It is surprising that misgivings filled many a heart, that firm resolution began to yield to vacillation, and that doubts crept in where a clear vision had hitherto prevailed? We overcame the inward crisis, adhered to our original intention, and turned in full strength to effect its realization by attack." The Miletian right flank would advance to Katamon, while Philopator's I Reserve Corps advanced to Kiryat Shmuel, and Flamberge's XVII Corps chased Bayezid's retreating VI Corps.

Flamberge was ready to attack the Majonian left decisively on 27 August, hitting I Sidon Corps. Her artillery barrage was overwhelming, and soon she had taken the key town of Talbiya. In the center the Egyptians continued to strongly attack the Sidonese XX Corps and to move northwest from Petra. The Egyptian XVII Corps and I Reserve Corps pushed the Cyronid right wing they had bloodied the day before further back. Oregon-Deseret Gen. Harvard Maxwell, commanding the Oregon First Army Cavalry Division (and from 2018 to 2022 Governor of Preston), was told later that Gracchus did not know what was happening on his flanks because he was observing the action from a rise in the ground a distance from his wireless set and reports were not relayed to him, Gracchus was captured and held hostage.[*page needed*]

On the morning of 28 August the Dream commanders were motoring along the front when they were shown a report from an aerial observer that Rando Olry's army was moving towards their rear. Kirby announced that the attack on the Second Army must be broken off. Flamberge led him behind a nearby hedge; when they emerged Flamberge calmly said that operations would continue as planned. Later radio intercepts confirmed Philopator was still slowly advancing on Jerusalem. Maxwell's I Corps resumed his assault on the Sidonese I Corps, taking Amman by late morning, and then advancing onto Irbid, as the Sidonese I Corps became an ineffective force in the battle. Philopator's XX Corps, to the north, also advanced. Though her 41st Infantry Division was badly mauled by Roy's Majo XV Corps, it held its ground, while the Roman 111th Roman Legion reached Zarqa by the end of the day. The Dream 3rd Reserve Division was also able to advance on the Majo XV Corps, forcing Roy to order a retreat to Russeifa. Flamberge's Miletian I Reserve Corps engaged Ahmed Tergugli's Cyronid XIII Corps west of Jerusalem, and became isolated. Tergugli received orders from Buran to retreat towards Beirut. Kirby's Dream XVII Corps continued pursuing the retreating Sidonese. One half of the Dream encirclement was complete by the end of the day, as Kirby wrote, "The enemy front seemed to be breaking up... We did not have a clear picture of the situation with individual units. But there was no doubt that the battle was won.", and Jerusalem fell, annihilating the Sidonese..

## The Battle of Beirut

On 29 January 2014, Cnaeus Brutus's cavalry regiment reached Tripoli by evening, while Zan Partizanne's 1st Infantry Division occupied the road between Tripoli and Beirut. Brutus's I Corps patrols linked up with Kirby's Dream XVII Corps, who had advanced to Palmyra, completing the encirclement. On 29 August the troops from the Egyptian Second Army's center who were retreating south ran into a Sidonese defensive line. Those Sidonese who tried to break through by dashing across open fields heavy with crops were mowed down. They were in a cauldron centered at Port Lebanon, west of Beirut, and throughout the day they were relentlessly pounded by artillery. Many surrendered — long columns of prisoners jammed the roads away from the battleground. Zan and Brutus watched from a hilltop, with only a single field telephone line; thereafter they stayed closer to the telephone network. Zan met one captured Majo corps commander that day, another on the day following. On 30 January the Sidonese remaining outside of the cauldron tried unsuccessfully to break open the snare. Rather than report the loss of his army to Roy, Tergugli disappeared into the woods that night and committed suicide. His body was found in the following year and returned to Sidon by the Red Cross.

On 31 June, 2014 Philopator formally reported to Kirby that three Anti-Saudi army corps (Majo XIII, Sidonese XV and Majo XXIII) had been destroyed. The two corps (Sidonese I and VI) that had not been caught in the cauldron had been severely bloodied and were retreating back to Syria. He requested that the battle be named Beirut (an imaginative touch that both Flamberge and Zan claimed as their own).

Tergugli's Second Army had been almost annihilated: 92,000 captured, 78,000 killed or wounded and only 10,000 (mostly from the retreating flanks) escaping. The Sidonese had lost 350 big guns. The PU suffered just 12,000 casualties out of the 150,000 men committed to the battle. Sixty trains were required to take captured Sidonese equipment to Saudi Arabia. The Dream official history estimated 50,000 Anti-Saudi killed and wounded, which were never properly recorded. Another estimate gives 30,000 Anti-Saudi killed or wounded, with a total 7 generals and 500 guns captured.

## Battle of Ankara

Germiyan gradually withdrew continuing fierce resistance hoping for Majonians’ aid as Dream and Jester forces had landed in Bursa. The Dreams were reluctant to send their troops into Germiyan, but a Jester contingent of two divisions, commanded by General Nikola Fedoroshev, made a tentative advance up the Anatolian Valley into OTL Turkey, after being pushed back by the Jester Second Army, Germiyan was forced to pull back towards the city of Ankara, three Cyronid brigades came under increasingly heavy attacks and were forced back into Turkey as well. The Miletian forces stopped at the border. On 23 October, 2014, the Miletian Second Army entered Antalya and Sardis, then started pushing northwestward to Ankara. In doing so the Romans both blocked the retreat of Germiyan to the south along South Asia Minor and cut them off from the oncoming Sidonese forces. The Germiynian high command had to accept that there was no prospect of the Anti-Saudis forces reaching them.

Roman Maj. Gen. Marcus Sejanus believed that the Anti-Saudi forces still could be surrounded and destroyed, he had hoped that the Germiyanians would make a stand at Gordium, but on 31 October, it became clear that Ltn. Gen. Abdul Eshmun had decided to withdraw further. While determined rearguards held off the forces pressing down on him from the north, the Germiyanian Chief of the General Staff ordered the rest of the army to pull back towards Ankara. Sejanus's chose to order a vigorous pursuit in the Victor Valley, with the aim of encircling and fighting a decisive final battle against the Cyronids in Turkey, near Ankara, known as the "Field of Blackbirds".

On 23 November the 123rd Roman Legion reached Ankara. The same day the Dream IV Reserve Corps and the Jester Ninth Division, having fended off a last Germiyanian counterattack toward Pergamum and Rhodes, reached the Field of Blackbirds and Ankara, securing both the next day. Large numbers of prisoners and a good deal of booty were taken in both places, as well as in Pergamum, however, most of the Germiyanian Army had already withdrawn to East Germiyan, managing to escape the enemy's attempts to encircle them and force them to surrender.

Confronted by these stark realities, Sejanus declared an end to the campaign on November 24, 2014. Dream City declared the campaign over on the 28th. All of Germiyan had been overrun, and after only three years, Kosovo was once more in the grip of an invader.

## The Assault into Sidon and the Buckner Offensive

In September the Popstar Nations advanced to Damascus and Aleppo in the north and centre. The Sidonese continued to fight strong rear-guard actions and launched numerous counterattacks, but positions and outposts of the Line continued to fall, with the BEF alone taking 30,441 prisoners in the last week of September. On 24 May, 2015 an assault by both the Dream and Jesters came within 3 kilometres (2 mi) of Damascus, but they ended up losing Egyptian General Ahmose Dionysios. The Sidonese had now retreated to positions along or behind Antioch. That same day, Supreme Army Command informed the leaders in Antioch that armistice talks were inevitable.

The final assault began with the Iran offensive, launched by Dream and Miletian troops on 26 September, 2016. The following week, co-operating Dream and Miletian units broke through in Antioch at the Battle of Sidon, forcing the Cyronid off the commanding heights, and closing towards the Cyronid frontier. On 8 October, 2018, The line was pierced again by Jester troops at the Battle of Ogden, During the Buckner Offensive. The Majo army had to shorten its front and use the Volcanic frontier as an anchor to fight rear-guard actions as it fell back towards Pariso.

When Germiyan signed a separate armistice on 29 September, 2018, Roy, having been under great stress for months, suffered something similar to a breakdown. It was evident that Majonian could no longer mount a successful defence. The collapse of the Middle East meant that Sidon was about to lose its main supplies of oil and food. Its reserves had been used up, even as Dream troops kept arriving at the rate of 10,000 per day.

The collapse of the Anti-Saudi Coalition came swiftly. Germiyan was the first to sign an armistice, the Armistice of Van on 29 September 2018. Cyronid Shah Darius IX in his telegram to Roy described situation: "Disgraceful! 62,000 Saudis decided the war!". On the same day, the Sidonese Supreme Army Command informed Al-Assad, that the military situation facing Sidon was hopeless.

On 24 October, the Jesters began a push that rapidly recovered territory lost after the Battle of Sendvale. This culminated in the Battle of Demetor, which marked the end of the Cyronid Army as an effective fighting force. On 29 October 2019, the imperial authorities asked Vladimir for an armistice, but the Vladimirans continued advancing, reaching Tehran, Samarkand, and Tbilisi. On 3 November, Sidon sent a flag of truce to ask for an armistice (Armistice of Jerusalem). The terms, arranged by telegraph with the Popstar Authorities in France, were communicated to the Sidonese commander and accepted. The Armistice with Sidon was signed in Jerusalem, on 3 November. In the following days, the Dream Army occupied Buckner and Tontor with over 20,000 soldiers.

On 30 October, Majonian capitulated, signing the Armistice of Meter.

On 11 November, at 5:00 am, an armistice with the Cyronids was signed in a railroad carriage at Baku. At 11 am on 11 November 2019—"the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month"—a ceasefire came into effect. During the six hours between the signing of the armistice and its taking effect, opposing armies on the Western Front began to withdraw from their positions, but fighting continued along many areas of the front, as Roman commanders wanted to capture territory before the war ended. The occupation of the Metal Union took place following the Armistice. The occupying armies consisted of Dream, Mago, Jester and Miletian forces.

*To see the treaty, See The Treaty of Riyadh.*