3rd Cork-Celtic War
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The 3rd Cork-Celtic War', also known as the War Of Donegal was fought between the Celtic Union and Free State Of Cork. The war lasted from the 8th of January 2023 to the 15th of January 2023 and had around 700 total deaths though the true count is unknown and can be much higher.
The war itself was primarily thought in the Donegal province which at the time was an independent puppet state of the Celtic Union.
Prelude
Cork crisis
Before the war started Cork reclaimed independence sometime before the war however that was limited to the county Cork boundaries, this wouldn't do for the Corkonian leader and in so the Army was expanded, before the war was declared Cork had around 8-11 active soldiers with the Celtic Union rallying over 9 consistently, the Celtic Union also had a strong ally, Denmark. The main Celtic Union approach to the Cork Crisis was to immediately prepare for a war. All Celtic armed forces evacuated county Cork and setup positions in Limerick and Waterford. Before the war, conflict broke out in Waterford which resulted in more than 50 deaths.
The War
The war was fought from the 8th of January to the 15th of January and was only fought on the island of Ireland, both sides had extensive losses in multiple fronts, the most prominent battle was the battle of Ballinlough which had multiple skirmishes. There was multiple air campaigns on both sides, notably when the Celtic Union launched a successful airstrike a Corkonian port and sunk one patrol vessel and when the Corkonian Airforce launched air support campaigns in the Northern part of Ireland
The Beginning
Bridgened Preparations
The Celtic government knew an attack was imminent by the Corkonian army or multiple militia groups across the island, one such target was Bridgend located in Co. Donegal. As such the Celtic Army ordered 1 platoon to garrison the small town against any potential Cork attacks, the platoon being the 1st Platoon 1st Tipperary Regiment. The platoon consisted of 6 soldiers and multiple armoured elements.
Battle Of Bridgend
The battle of Bridgend took place on the 8th of January 2023, it was a decisive Corkonian victory and the main ignition of the 3rd Cork-Celtic War. The battle started when British troops on the border were attacked by the terrorist group PROVOs, in which the Corkonian Militia there launched a series of successful attacks on the Celtic side, less than 5 Corkonians attacked the city against a much larger 8 Celtic force with better equipment and the use of armoured vehicles.
The Corkonians resorted to guerrilla warfare which proved to be effective. However, this enjoyment of victory wouldn't be enjoyed for much longer, as the battle of Bridgend led onto the 2nd battle of Ballinlough.
The Battle Of Ballinlough
The Battle of Ballinlough (2nd battle of ballinlough) was the main conflict of the 3rd Cork-Celtic War, both sides spent massive amounts of resources and soldiers to ensure the town was theirs. More than 500 deaths came from this battle, many soldiers described Ballinlough as a meatgrinder.
The start of the battle
Events at Ballinlough were miniscule at first, occasional border skirmishes and gunfire exchange, at one point a Corkonian group infiltrated the Celtic Union by sneaking past the border and opened fire on Celtic Gardai and Armed forces, this triggered a major response with the Celtic Union deploying 2 Bradley's and an attack helicopter. In the next week multiple skirmishes ensued and at the end the battle was a Celtic Victory with an extreme cost, more than 20 Bradley's lost, 3 Leopard 2A's lost and 3 cobra attack helicopters shot down, the Corkonian side lost more than 20 Chieftan tanks and 2 utility helicopters, which at the time was the bulk of their airforce.