Battle of Belgrade
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The Battle of Belgrade is an ongoing battle between the Celtic Union and Serbia. It has so far resulted in the fall of some of Belgrade from Serbia to the Celtic Union, however at huge expense of both Celtic and Corkonian lives.
Prelude
The battle happened after the incredible success of the Celtic Airborne Invasion of Belgrade the Celtic Army decided to launch an attack north, with the help of Corkonian civilian volunteers from the Rathlin Royal Militia[2]. The Rathlin Royal Militia were frequently used as flanking troops.
The Battle of South Belgrade
The battle started with a Celtic artillery bombardment that killed some Serbians and damaged the buildings, however the Serbians were able to entrench and held onto the buildings for a while. Eventually the Celts, desperate for progress called in air support which mostly failed and resulted in the loss of a attack helicopter. The initial attack also saw huge use of armoured cars in the assault, the ERC-90 was used on the Celtic side with the Serbians deploying their own BMP-1 (and the Serbians made extensive use of AT weapons which devastated the Celtic attack)
The Siege
It was clear the Celtics were not making progress and by halfway through the battle they had already lost 7 armoured cars, 1 helicopter and 70 dead. The Celts decided to settle down into a night time artillery bombardment, which somewhat worked however the Serbians fortified and dug trenches which resulted in the bombardments failing.
Tunnels
With no clear way to progress, the Celtics resorted to digging tunnels, a already proven strategy which helped extensively in the 4th-Cork Celtic War war. So the Celtic troops and Corkonian volunteers attempted to dig tunnels which started to show success. A detachment of Corkonian volunteers from the Rathlin Royal Militia were able to flank right in a tunnel and start attacking the roof tops, which still proved hard. Celts were able to make progress left and centre and eventually the Serbians lost the building.
The Defense
With the building now occupied the Celts rushed to re-fortify it, with a Corkonian manning the machine gun actively shooting at Serbian soldiers re-advancing. The Celts almost lost the building when the Serbians launched 2 front pincer attack however failed to re-occupy the building.
Around 2 more armoured cars were re-deployed too attack the Serbian attackers which resulted in one Cork operated armoured car on top of a hill successfully killing up to 14 Serbians whilst being pounded with RPG rockets.
The End of the Battle
Ongoing
War Crimes and controversy
A Corkonian operated ERC-90 is supposed to have killed up to 13 civilians.
Aftermath
The attack led to the complete capture of Belgrade and the Celtic Union started re-organising to attack north. Multiple miles of field were captured along with the river. The Serbians had lost some front line BMPs and with their airforce already in shambles they decided too retreat.
The 1st Assault on the City
Main Article: 1st Assault on Belgrade
The 1st Assault on the City was on the 18th of February 2024