Battle of Anders Valley

The Battle of Anders Valley was the first major engagement of the Teyfort Rebellion, as well as the Second Abramsian War. Fought below the Anders mountain range a few dozen kilometres south of Teyfort city on Abramsia, it ended in a decisive victory for the newly created Free State, who were able to seize the Abramsian Defence Force's SAM batteries in order to achieve air superiority over the valley. The battle was a major embarrassment for the Centauran Commonwealth, and also served as a major proving ground for the Sulycan-made 2344 Barnstormer strike fighter

Background
After the signing of the 2341 Treaty of Duklja, the Sulycan Federation ceded the entire Abramsian system, save for a few trade and research outposts, to the Centauran Commonwealth in exchange for minimised war reparations. This, however, did not go as smoothly as the Centaurans hoped. Almost immediately after annexation, the 5 of the 6 newly incorporated provinces refused to ratify the Abramsian constitution and were generally uncooperative with the rest of the planetary government. The planet went without an official constitution until 2343, when a seven-month-long conference resulted in the creation of a new constitution for the planet.

The Sulycan-supporting provinces continued to not cooperate on many aspects of government, from illegal raising and lowering of internal tariffs to a nearly year-long filibuster of the planetary military budget led by Teyfort representative Yuri Zelenka from '46-'47.

The response of the planetary and federal government varied. On the whole, the federal government wished to stay out of the local business, urging the planetary government to solve their issues peacefully and come to a solution. Discretely, however, they gradually increased the federal military presence in the system.

The planetary government was divided on how to respond, with many politicians pushing for reconciliation, while others urged military action to end what they viewed as rebellion. The latter faction would ultimately get their way; in 2348, the prime minister forced a bill that would increase the local military presence in the "rebellious" provinces. Several incidents of violence would break out, enraging the locals.

As the federal government threatened to step in, the Free State of Teyfort was declared on May 30, 2350, forcefully expelling the Abramsian military presence in the region. Gathering their forces on the new border, the Abramsian Defence Forces reentered Teyfort on June 5, pushing within a few kilometres of the provincial capital.

The Battle
On June 7, the Abramsian Defence Force's 14th, 25th, and 43rd Divisions arrived in the area of Anders Valley, 3.6 kilometres to the southeast of Teyfort City. The rebel forces they had engaged during the past two days had fought a fighting retreat along the roads and through the forests. The Free State's ground forces took up defensive position along the nearby Hardin River, which blocked the way to Teyfort, as the ADF set up their own.

The ADF had successfully been able to ground the Free State's air forces using mobile surface-to-air missiles. The Free State's own SAM sites prevented the ADF from making any direct strikes against the city or its surrounding defences. The ADF force has previously been reliant on orbital missile support, but were unable to provide much further assistance due to the front line's close proximity to major civilian areas.

Recognising the importance of the SAM sites, the Free State's ground forces hatched a plan in order to neutralise them. The primary force along the Hardin River, to the northeast of the ADF's position, launched an assault across, with significant artillery support, at 0412 hours on June 8. Some gains were made, but the Free State's forces were pushed back to the riverbank by 0600 hours.

On the western flank, 1,023 horse-mounted infantry, led by Colonel Joseph Ayodele, maneuvered through the rough, mountainous terrain above the valley in order to reach the ADF's SAM and artillery pieces. Ayodele's force dismounted and commenced their direct assault around 0530 hours, taking the ADF's rear guard by surprise and successfully pushing them away from the artillery site by 0600 hours.

Now with control of the SAMs, the Free State's forces put them to use against the ADF's air forces, resulting in a fierce dogfight as the numerically superior and higher quality ADF aircraft faced off against the Free State's. This battle for air superiority lasted hours, but with the support of the SAMs the Free State came out with temporary control of the air space by 1100 hours, cutting off the ADF's ground forces.

Surrounded and under heavy fire from the air, the ADF's remaining ground forces were left with little choice than to retreat. Harassed from air and behind, those who weren't killed or captured reached the border by the next morning.

Aftermath
The ADF suffered heavy casualties, losing over 9,000 men killed, wounded, or captured, along with numerous vehicles lost. Free State casualties were comparatively light, with the highest percentage of casualties being taken by Ayodele's mounted infantry, whose ferocious attack on the ADF rear was highly effective, but cost them a hundred killed or wounded.

The story of Ayodele's mounted infantry and their bold attack quickly became infamous, and Ayodele became a hero not just in Teyfort but in Sulycan space as well, earning the moniker "Horse Lord" for his leadership.

Most ADF units that weren't able to reach the border were quickly captured or otherwise neutralised. The exception to this was a 23-man team from the Centaurans' Naval Special Warfare Detachment Xia, who had been attached to the ADF's 43rd Division as a reconnaissance team. In the days after the battle, this team led by Lieutenant Commander Lex Novak operated within Free State territory, raiding camps, rescuing prisoners, and carrying out sabotage. Within a week, they had organised 17 ADF personnel rescued in order to carry out larger operations before being scattered in a firefight on June 19. Divided and having taken casualties, the team members continued to attack Free State military targets until the ADF, support by the Federal military, successfully pushed back into the territory. All members of the group, including those killed and the rescued prisoners, were given highest military honours, a significant morale boost in the aftermath of Anders Valley.

The subsequent Federal response and crushing of the Free State would result in Sulycan intervention, leading to the Second Abramsian War.