Operation Manchurian Freedom (1983: Doomsday)

Operation Manchurian Freedom, known by some local Manchurians as the First Manchurian War, was a conflict between the Union of Sovereign Socialist Republics and the remnant states of the former Chinese provinces of Manchuria. The operation began in 1990 with the Siberian invasion of Northern Manchuria, ending in the annexation of the region by the USSR. The war is considered the largest conflict to erupt in the region since Doomsday, followed by the Second Manchurian War which would occur twenty-two years later following the bombing of a passenger train heading from Primorskaya Territory in Siberia to Korea, killing 137 people.

The war is noted for having three main phases, with the first and last lasting only a few short months, with the majority of fighting taking place along the border between Siberian forces and local gangs operating in the area; while the second phase would take a few years. The Siberians would initially attack in 1990 and take control of.a significantly large portion of the north by 1991, when the operation was officially marked over. However, Siberian forces would remain in the region for years afterword, laying the foundation for a local government and fighting against a number of localized insurgency groups who opposed Siberian rule, before fighting off the last of the militia in 1993 and destroying any major resistance the Siberians would have to face.

Operation Manchurian Freedom is often divided into three main phases. The first was an invasion of Manchuria starting in April 1990 by a Siberian invasion force. It was followed by a longer but sporadic and minor second phase of fighting, in which an insurgency emerged to try to oppose the occupying forces and the newly formed Manchurian government. The third phase was the destruction of remanant forces when they attacked in 1993, and the establishing of control.over all of northern Manchuria. By 1995 almost all of terrorist and insurgency leaders had been killed in military raids or captured, leading to the collapse of the small raiding parties left. The Siberians would incorporate the territory into the USSR, with the region enjoying lasting peace under Siberian rule..

Background
Before Doomsday the area of Manchuria was characterized by its importance manufacturing which contributed to the Chinese national infrastructure. Its industrial prominence and its key strategic location made the area a moderately targeted area on doomsday, receiving numerous nuclear strikes from the USSR, particularly along the coast and southern portions of the region. The local government was shattered immensely, leading to an increase in looting and other crimes. Several local military leaders would assume control of the area, fighting for dominance in the chaos. Several generals from the Shenyang Military Region, and the northern section of the Beijing Military Region would claim to be the true successors to the Chinese government, however to little success.

The lack of communication with Beijing and the Chinese command rendered any attempt to form some sort of government useless, with all declared factions in Manchuria eventually collapsing. Stationed officers in the region became warlords, trafficking small amounts of supplies for personal profit. Many fled into the USSR and other neighboring areas in the early months of the post-doomsday conflict. Others, struggling to survive would organize themselves into raiding parties, attacking Siberian frontier towns. Food and other necessities were in great demand for the Chinese, turning many to the border for basic supplies. The raiding soon became widespread, and with the Siberia government in chaos, defense of the border largely fell the Russian citizens themselves. Skirmishes and racial prejudice was common, leaving many dead along China National Highway 301, and other well traveled roads.

As order began to re-emerge in Siberia, the local Russian population petitioned the union for aid, as the defense of the region had become too much of an economic strain for the citizens. The Siberian government, tired of the problem, looked for a more permanent solution, hoping to establish a buffer between Siberia and lawless China to the south. Prominent Siberian generals and leaders met to decide how to end the problem once and for all. It was obvious from the start an assult into the chaos was going to be nessecary, however most were unsure what the scale of the Operations would be. It was decided that a sizeable numbers of troops would be sent in - with the government deciding to play it safe.

The Operation was code-named "Manchurian Freedom".

Outbreak of War
In 1990, Geydar Aliyev, leader of the Union of Sovereign Socialist Republics, approved a plan to invade Northern Manchuria by the end of spring that year. Supplies were gathered and guards were established in Zabaykalsky Krai and Amur to stale opposition in time for an army to be gathered. In April the invasion commenced as units from the 7th and 35th armies crossed into Manchuria.

Once past the border the Siberians encountered almost no organized resistance of any kind. Armored Siberian convoys were primarily tasked with patrolling towns to ensure that the small insurgency formed to resist the Siberians were kept out. The opposition primarily relied on guerrilla attacks in urban settings and the use of improvised explosive devices, or homemade bombs constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military actions, to slow down the Siberians and inflict casualties, knowing that direct assault would like end horribly for the insurgency.

North Manchuria was temporarily designated as a territory and put under military rule. The territory consisted of the Russian occupied zone up to that point, reaching into southern Heilongjiang. It was not until November 1995 that the Territory was integrated as a state in the Union and was renamed the Manchurian Socialist Republic.

For the next several months Siberian forces were primarily tasked with pacifying the newly created Manchurian territory. Small attacks were common to start off with, yet much resistance seemed to have dissapeared and as the Siberians arrived in slightly greater numbers and secured more positions in the areas under their rule - even these began to stop.

Conclusion
With the few raids taking place directly after the liberation lacking any real support and viewed mostly as small acts of terrorism from the government as well as the locals, support dimished. Northern rebel leader, Liu Yuejun assumed control of the few Chinese forces willing to follow him, launching a campaign from the unoccupied west. The Siberian, fortifying their defenses in the major cities, would fight back dozens of small attacks launched from the south and west. On 7 April 1993 the militia managed to salvage enough supplies to launch a small offensive against the Siberian garrison near the border. Utilizing artillery seized from the south and from the former factories in Manchuria, Liu Yuejun positioned his men to surround the major routes out of the city, bombarding the garrison for several hours.

Sensing an opportunity to counterattack, the Siberian officer in charge of the defense, Iosif Gusakovsky, sent an assault force to engage a hole in the Chinese defenses. In the hastily established defense, a reasonably sized gap was sighted from Route 301 to the eastern flank, allowing Siberian transports to cut the Chinese in two. The USSR attacked the Chinese right flank, inflicting large casualties and eliminating a valuable Chinese position. The Chinese left flank retaliated, entering the city along route 301, and engaging the Siberians farther down the route. The Chinese managed to make a small advance, securing the center of the city by nightfall. The Chinese attackers to the far left were tasked with continuing the assault, surrounding the Siberian flank. That night the Siberians managed to hold off the assault, routing the Chinese flank, which would flee the battle.

By morning Liu Yuejun was forced to write up a new strategy. The Chinese militia had no choice but to fall back to cover the inevitable Siberian counterattack, drawing a new line farther south. As the main Siberian attack began the Chinese were unable to hold back the Siberians, and Liu Yuejun called for a retreat.

The battle proved to the USSR's command that the Manchurian threat was still as real as ever. Plans for an end to the rebels were written, beginning in April of 1993 with the movement of Siberian veterans farther south. Liu Yuejun panicked, ordering his ragtag army into Jilin. In the north Chiness forces under Meng Jinxi engaged the Siberian reinforcements at the Battle of Zalantun, where the Chinese managed to pin down the Siberians momentarily, before being forced to retreat.

Forces in the north were rallied, leading Meng Jinxi to move his forces south to surround the Siberian advance and support Liu Yuejun. The Siberian forces caught up to Liu Yuejun on 1 June 1993, laying siege to the city of Fuyu. The Chinese were able to create defenses out of the city’s rubble, creating a valiant defense against the Siberians, who were using artillery from the north. Meng Jinxi’s army would be pinned down at Ulan Hot by the Siberian flank, preventing reinforcements from arriving in time. On 5 June the city surrendered, and Liu Yuejun was captured. Liu Yuejun was later transferred to a prisoner camp in the northwest, facing malnutrition and disease, he attempted to lead an escape, ending in his execution.

The USSR would take Mudanjiang in the east, one of the last main hubs of resistance against the invasion. Despite this, Chinese raiders would continue to harass Siberian supply trains for months to come, until the last of the Chinese raider factions were destroyed in 1995. This engagement would lead to the destruction of major opposition forces and draw a conclusion to Operation Manchurian Freedom.

Aftermath
In 1991 the territory of Northern Manchuria was annexed by the USSR, ending the main phase of invasion. This area would remain under Siberian rule, although control at the start wuld be heavily shakey at best. Although the Siberians perceived hostilities would end, as they had, they had underestimated the amounts that would be willing to continue fighting. Rounding up of many runaway militiamen would finally be completed by 1995 and the Siberians solidified their control over the area, leading to the pacification of Sino-Siberian border. With the north firmly in Siberian hands, the Manchurian Socialist Republic was declared in 1995, encompassing the former Siberian territory of northern Manchuria and a large section of the Siberian occupied area.

Imperial China would continue its hostile stance toward the USSR following the war. The Qing believe that the USSR annexed several of their "fiefdoms" to the north out of "pure hostility and with brute force". This hatred would finally culminate in the Second Manchurian War, with the Siberian offensive known as Operation Mars. By the August of 2012, Imperial China was occupied and the USSR would reconstitute the Manchurian Territory - ending Chinese resistance in the south for good.