They said I was unstable. Maybe they're right. But when I crush our enemies, it really isn't going to matter, no?
—Ivran Gresev
The Battle of Guay was a battle of the Cruentusian War. It occurred shortly after Ivran Gresev usurped leadership of the Srav Federation, and promptly began to enact his own military doctrine. To secure faith in his leadership, he launched an attack on the planet of Guay, host to a base of the Death's Tongue Militia. Gresev had no intention of assaulting the base; he had a Tsarka bomb, a superpowered nuclear bomb, constructed on the planet and detonated as soon as it was ready, desolating the planet and all on it.
Prelude[]
Prior to the battle, Ivran Gresev, top military commander of the Srav Federation, had secured power in a coup against Srav leader Jasef Yuiln on the grounds that Yuiln was not fit to rule. Having secured himself by claiming that Yuiln had been killed by enemy assassins, Gresev began to step up Srav military campaigns, now that he could commence his heavy-handed tactics unhindered. He selected the planet of Guay, which was near Srav territory, for attack, as it was occupied by the Death's Tongue Militia, against which the Sravs had been stepping up their campaigns. Assembling a force, Gresev sent forward intelligence-gathering recon probes and moved out.
The battle[]
Arrival[]
Arriving above the planet, Gresev analyzed available intelligence. It became apparent that much of the DTM holdings on the world were located underground, with them using a large tunnel network for supplies. For this reason, Gresev decided that a simple nuclear bombardment would not be viable. Nevertheless, he had all the planet's large urban areas razed with orbital nuclear bombardment, well aware of the DTM's tenacity in city combat, and sent down invasion transports.
As the transports landed, they came under sporadic attack by DTM ground forces and KRUD missile strikes from camouflaged missile nests, but these did minimal damage, and Gresev had the missile sites taken out via airstrike. With the Srav landing forces consolidated, Gresev ordered a contingent of combat engineers to start constructing a Tsarka bomb, believing that expunging the DTM from the planet conventionally would take too long.
In the meantime, to make sure the DTM did not disrupt the construction, Srav forces spread out, rooting out and eliminating DTM pockets throughout the landscape, targeting mainly the missile sites and tunnel network entrances. The DTM made use of booby traps, such as high-explosive and eborax bombs they had placed around the area, but this did not hinder the Sravs too much.
Red Armageddon[]
Into the night, the Sravs continued to keep up their assault. The DTM forces did not have a concrete command structure, with many of their command installations destroyed with the razing of the cities, but they still kept up hit-and-run attacks on the Sravs forces, spreading themselves out to overstretch the enemy.
Gresev was frustrated by the DTM's guerrilla doctrine, but heard that the Tsarka bomb was nearly complete, and ordered his forces to pull out. Believing that they were winning and the Sravs were retreating, DTM forces moved in towards the main Srav camp, where the Tsarka bomb was 99% completed. The last combat engineers hastily pulled out, and the bomb countdown was initiated. Confused as to the nature of the bomb, some DTM militants entered its control center and began fiddling with the controls.
As a result, one of the militants triggered the bomb seconds before it was due to explode. Instantly, an area of thousands of square miles was incinerated by the explosion. Mountain ranges were leveled, oceans were evaporated, and deserts and savanna were reduced to glass. Half the planet was desolated by the explosion and blast in minutes; massive fallout and radiation began to flood into the other half. Gresev was satisfied that the enemy forces were destroyed, and the Srav forces in orbit left.
Aftermath[]
Following the battle, Gresev boasted about this victory, claiming that under his leadership victory was inevitable. Many high-ranking Sravs were still disturbed, worried that Gresev would use such destructive tactics at every opportunity, but few vocally voiced their concerns. Other factions, such as the Necasian Military and the DTM, were also taken aback, but the DTM used the battle as a propaganda source, touting that 'these imperialists will destroy the galaxy if we do not make a stand'.