Siege of San Salvador

This article is about the 1946–1949 military conflict of the Creeperian Civil War. For other conflicts in San Salvador, see Battle of San Salvador.

Siege of San Salvador
Part of the Creeperian Civil War
Clockwise from top left: Ruins in Denilla in 1948, National Council soldiers in 1946, Imperial Council vehicles during Operation Watermelon, the San Salvador Imperial Palace burning in 1948.
Date 17 May 1946 – 30 August 1949 (3 years, 3 months, 1 week and 6 days) Location Throughout San Salvador, with spillovers into San Luís, Zapatista, and the State of the Church Result Decisive Imperial Council victory Territorial changes Imperial Council retains control of San Salvador National Council withdraws from San Salvador
Belligerents
National Council	Imperial Council
Commanders and leaders
Miguel VII † Marcos I Juan Salinas Figueroa † Miguel Salinas Ortega José Bolívar Aguirre Pascual Espinar Casaus Mariano Alcocer Fraga José Huerta Milano Carlos Madrid Figueroa Eustacio Mena Quijada	Romero I † Romero II Alfonso Cabañeras Moreno Máximo Barrueco Morterero Juan Primavera Sánchez Jorge Díaz Molina Alexander Sánchez Molina Adolfo Rivera López Óscar Únzaga Vega Carlos Hernández Videla
Units involved
Miguelist Armed Forces National Army National Navy National Air Force National Guard Atheist Red Army Special Task Squadrons Elite Medical Detachment Apostates for the Cause Foreign volunteers	Romerist Armed Forces Imperial Army Imperial Navy Imperial Air Force Imperial Guard Cristero militias Militarist Nationalist Front Falange Creeperiano Camisas Negras Foreign volunteers
Strength
705,000 soldiers 45,000 paramilitaries 100,000+ militiamen Equipment: 21,000 artillery pieces 2,500 tanks 1,500 aircraft 16 ships	699,000 soldiers 60,000 paramilitaries 100,000+ militiamen Equipment: 25,000 artillery pieces 2,500 tanks 1,600 aircraft 15 ships
Casualties and losses
289,000 dead 357,000 wounded 76,000 captured 50,000 missing Equipment losses: 15,400 artillery pieces lost 2,000 tanks lost 900 aircraft lost 14 ships sunk 2 ships captured	272,000 dead 349,000 wounded 68,000 captured 50,000 missing Equipment losses: 16,500 artillery pieces lost 1,900 tanks lost 1,000 aircraft lost 11 ships sunk
Civilian casualties: 2.7 million dead, 3.6 million wounded, 21.5 million displaced, 700,000 missing

The Siege of San Salvador (Creeperian Spanish – Creeperian: Սիտո ել Սան Սալվադոր; Creeperian Spanish – Iberic: Sito de San Salvador), also referred to as the Battle of San Salvador (Creeperian: Բատաժա ել Սան Սալվադոր; Iberic: Batalla de San Salvador), and known in modern-Creeperopolis as The Siege (Creeperian: Ել Սիտո; Iberic: El Sito), was the largest and deadliest confrontation of the Creeperian Civil War between the Catholic Imperial Restoration Council (Imperial Council) and the National Council for Peace and Order (National Council). The battle was fought mostly within the department of San Salvador, one of the most strategically and symbolically important regions of the country. Due to its large and complicated nature, the siege has sometimes been considered to be its own war within the Creeperian Civil War.

The siege began in May 1946 with an initial attack by the National Council against forces of the Imperial Council. The National Council's failure to win a quick and decisive victory over the Imperial Council led to a stalemate and long-lasting siege, as neither side was able to break through the other's defenses. A final offensive by the Imperial Council in August 1949 forced a National Council retreat, ending the siege in a decisive Imperial Council victory. The civil war itself would later end on 30 September 1949.

Foreign volunteers aided both the Imperial and National Councils during the conflict. In support of the Imperial Council, the nations of Castilliano, Lyoa, and New Gandor sent divisions of soldiers to fight alongside Imperial Council soldiers. In support of the National Council, the nations of Ajakanistan and Terranihil sent divisions of soldiers to fight alongside National Council soldiers. The June 1946 Battle of Serrada is known for being fought entirely between volunteer forces: Gandorians on behalf of the Imperial Council and Terranilians on behalf of the National Council.

A total of 3.261 million people died during the siege, the vast majority of whom were civilians. An additional 4.306 million people were wounded, most of whom were also civilians, and 21.5 million civilians were displaced from their homes. Around 900,000 people were also labeled as missing (mostly civilians), with the vast majority likely having died sometime during the battle which would make the death toll over 4 million. The siege is not only the deadliest battle in Creeperian history, but also in human history.

Name

Due to the extremely complex nature of the conflict, the event has been referred to by several different names. Siege of San Salvador is the most commonly used name, however, the "San Salvador" in Siege of San Salvador refers to the department of San Salvador as a whole instead of the city of San Salvador, located in the center of the department. Other names used to refer to the military conflict include the Battle of San Salvador (not to be confused with other historical battles of San Salvador) and the San Salvador War.

The conflict's two factions also referred to the conflict by differing names. The National Council referred to the conflict as The Final Battle while the Imperial Council referred to the conflict as The Siege. Later Creeperian government officials and scholars have also referred to the conflict as The Siege due to its importance in modern Creeperian history.

Order of battle

National Council order of battle

Main article: National Council order of battle at the Siege of San Salvador

National Council leaders

Clockwise from top left: Salinas Figueroa, Bolívar Aguirre, Espinar Casaus, Salinas Ortega.

The commanders-in-chief of the National Council forces in the Siege of San Salvador were Emperors Miguel VII and Marcos I while its overall military commanders were Chief Field Marshals Juan Salinas Figueroa and Miguel Salinas Ortega. The following is the order of battle of the National Council at the start of the siege:

North–Lake San Salvador front

Army Group Mauricio Tasis Quesada – Field Marshal José Bolívar Aguirre

3rd Army – General Rigoberto Fernán Tasis

1st Amphibious Division – Lieutenant General Pablo Zaldívar Quijada

3rd Infantry Division – Lieutenant General Ernesto Cruz Molina

3rd Motorized Division – Lieutenant General Fabián Justo Fernández

4th Artillery Division – Lieutenant General José Yagüe Regalado

6th Armored Division – Lieutenant General Adolfo Serrano Tagribe

10th Infantry Division – Lieutenant General Calixto Morales Guerrero

11th Infantry Division – Lieutenant General Damián Herrera Herrera

9th Army – General Ricardo Rosales Román

1st Artillery Division – Lieutenant General Manuel Rojo Lucho

4th Infantry Division (Terranilian) – Major General Adam Gát

7th Infantry Division – Lieutenant General Eduardo Barcía Trelles

9th Motorized Division – Lieutenant General Arnoldo Rodríguez García

10th Mechanized Division – Lieutenant General Maximiliano Ferraz Sánchez

13th Infantry Division – Lieutenant General José Gómez Becerra

20th Infantry Division – Lieutenant General Fidel Olózaga Barria

2nd Flotilla – Admiral Lorenzo Sarmiento Elvira

2nd Naval Fleet – Vice Admiral Sergio Ascaso Azaña

11th Naval Fleet – Vice Admiral Juan Modesto Mejía

25th Air Force Wing – General Antonio Morterero Nores

East–central San Salvador front

Army Group Édgar Cazalla Beldad – Field Marshal Miguel Salinas Ortega

1st Army – General Alan Hurtado Ros

1st Infantry Division – Lieutenant General Álvaro Casanova Buenaventura

1st Armored Division – Lieutenant General Salvador Salinas Fraga

2nd Artillery Division – Lieutenant General Héctor Díaz Barrios

6th Infantry Division – Lieutenant General Ricardo Franco Budria

7th Motorized Division – Lieutenant General Roberto Saravia Casado

7th Mechanized Division – Lieutenant General Sergio Tuero Molina

8th Infantry Division – Lieutenant General Pedro Miaja Menant

9th Motorized Division – Lieutenant General Lucio Duarte Suñer

11th Army – General Rubén Alguacil Prats

2nd Infantry Division – Lieutenant General Joaquín Quiroga García

3rd Artillery Division – Lieutenant General José López Zamora

3rd Mechanized Division – Lieutenant General Santiago Castro Henríquez

4th Armored Division – Lieutenant General Gerardo Salinas Ortega

8th Motorized Division – Lieutenant General José Ugarte Magrina

17th Infantry Division – Lieutenant General Alfonso Giral Casares

18th Infantry Division – Lieutenant General Felipe Madrid León

130th Rifle Division (Ajaki) – Major General Ayushiyev Vassili

28th Air Force Wing – General Sebastián Pousa Frexia

South–Volcano San Salvador front

Army Group Joel Lacasa Campos – Field Marshal Pascual Espinar Casaus

7th Army – General Pedro Morillo Coronil

2nd Mountain Division – Lieutenant General José León Rivera

3rd Artillery Division – Lieutenant General Víctor Guerrero Guerrero

3rd Cavalry Division – Lieutenant General Mateo Verón Molina

4th Infantry Division – Lieutenant General Carlos Obregón Nariño

5th Armored Division – Lieutenant General Gerardo Jalisco Castro

6th Motorized Division – Lieutenant General Óscar Fuentes Flores

13th Infantry Division – Lieutenant General Félix Gutiérrez Álvarez

14th Infantry Division – Lieutenant General Isaías Duarte Duarte

8th Army – General Antonio Yon Sosa

1st Mountain Division – Lieutenant General Alexander Fuentes Dávalos

4th Cavalry Division – Lieutenant General Hernando Enríquez Linares

5th Infantry Division – Lieutenant General José López Alvarado

6th Artillery Division – Lieutenant General Martín Bermúdez Carpio

1th Infantry Division – Lieutenant General Vicente Raimundo Jiménez

16th Motorized Division – Lieutenant General Fernando Saavedra Córdoba

24th Infantry Division – Lieutenant General Francisco Goyena Irujo

27th Air Force Wing – General Dídac Pareja Campos

Paramilitaries (various fronts)

National Guard – Chief Guard Ángel Moruga Leoz

Atheist Red Army – General Secretary Mariano Alcocer Fraga

Special Task Squadrons – General José Huerta Milano

Elite Medical Detachment – General Carlos Madrid Figueroa

Apostates for the Cause – General Eustacio Mena Quijada

Imperial Council order of battle

Main article: Imperial Council order of battle at the Siege of San Salvador

Imperial Council leaders

Clockwise from top left: Cabañeras Moreno, Primavera Sánchez, Díaz Molina, Barrueco Morterero.

The commanders-in-chief of the Imperial Council forces in the Siege of San Salvador were Emperors Romero I and Romero II while its overall military commander was Chief Field Marshal Alfonso Cabañeras Moreno. The following is the order of battle of the Imperial Council at the start of the siege:

North–Lake San Salvador front

Army Group King Saint Miguel I – Field Marshal Juan Primavera Sánchez

3rd Army – General Agustín Sarmiento Cruz

2nd Armored Division – Lieutenant General Vicente Gutiérrez Serrano

4th Mechanized Division – Lieutenant General Martín Menjívar Ulloa

5th Motorized Division – Lieutenant General Leonardo Parejas Obregón

5th Infantry Division – Lieutenant General Emmanuel Guillén Rubio

8th Artillery Division – Lieutenant General Alfredo Tejón Duarte

17th Infantry Division (Gandorian) – Major General Krystian Matulewicz

23rd Infantry Division – Lieutenant General Jaime Infante Morales

11th Army – General Héctor Carballo Lain

3rd Amphibious Division – Lieutenant General Fernando López Fuentes

9th Infantry Division – Lieutenant General Adrián Cavallería Martí

10th Motorized Division – Lieutenant General Osiel Suñer Melléndez

11th Armored Division – Lieutenant General Héctor Molina Molina

12th Mechanized Division – Lieutenant General Víctor Castro Ruíz

12th Artillery Division – Lieutenant General Daniel Mena Linares

29th Infantry Division – Lieutenant General Jesús Tafalla Mancebo

Olla Volunteer Force – Brigadier Luís Larrazábal Ugueto

16th Flotilla – Admiral David Cortés Andino

16th Naval Fleet – Vice Admiral Benito Mori Díaz

22nd Naval Fleet – Vice Admiral Bernardo Herrera Callejas

3rd Air Force Wing – General Rolando Dávalos Abasto

East–central San Salvador front

Army Group Emperor Adolfo III – Field Marshal Máximo Barrueco Morterero

1st Army – General Miguel Luque Mazariegos

1st Infantry Division – Lieutenant General Milans Bosch Ussía

3rd Armored Division – Lieutenant General Federico Rivas Matadeltinianos

3rd Motorized Division – Lieutenant General Francisco Cortéz Ureña

4th Artillery Division – Lieutenant General Francisco Zapata Pérez

7th Mechanized Division – Lieutenant General Guillermo Prieto Umaña

8th Infantry Division – Lieutenant General Eduardo López López

18th Infantry Division – Lieutenant General Juan Alcabú Obregón

20th Infantry Division – Lieutenant General Carlos Prats Huerta

2nd Army – General Álvaro Chicote Villa

1st Artillery Division – Lieutenant General Romero Juárez Molina

2nd Cavalry Division – Lieutenant General Miguel Arrondo Varela

2nd Infantry Division – Lieutenant General Carlos Reyes Infante

9th Armored Division – Lieutenant General Venustiano Zaldívar Herrera

9th Motorized Division – Lieutenant General José Figueroa Regalado

16th Infantry Division – Lieutenant General José Miralles Tamayo

24th Infantry Division – Lieutenant General Enrique Yagüe Moreno

4th Air Force Wing – General Pablo Piñón Ureña

South–Volcano San Salvador front

Army Group King Saint Alfonso I – Field Marshal Jorge Díaz Molina

5th Army – General Miguel Saelices Cabal

1st Mountain Division – Lieutenant General Alfonso Casanova Fajardo

5th Artillery Division – Lieutenant General René Hernández Tassis

11th Artillery Division – Lieutenant General Luís Castillo Valdéz

13th Infantry Division – Lieutenant General Óliver Sanz Yepes

14th Motorized Division – Lieutenant General Antonio Flores Piñón

21st Infantry Division – Lieutenant General Augusto Hernández Molina

27th Infantry Division – Lieutenant General Javíer Castellanos Murillo

Lyoan Volunteer Legion – Colonel Manima Lama

9th Army – General Xavier Dávalos Carita

1st Armored Division – Lieutenant General Tomás Cabrera Negrín

2nd Artillery Division – Lieutenant General Hernando Dávalos Quijada

3rd Mountain Division – Lieutenant General José Revelo Bermúdez

4th Motorized Division – Lieutenant General Carlos Infante Molina

9th Mechanized Division – Lieutenant General Vicente Mola Sacanell

17th Infantry Division – Lieutenant General José Berganza Espiga

22nd Infantry Division – Lieutenant General Armando Sanjurjo García

Castillianan Expeditionary Force – Lieutenant General Maximiliér Cavaliér e Guerriér

7th Air Force Wing – General Aarón Tafalla Rubio

Paramilitaries (various fronts)

Imperial Guard – Chief Guard Gerardo Aguinaldo Villacrés

Creeperian People's Catholic Front – General Alexander Sánchez Molina

Militarist Nationalist Front – General Adolfo Rivera López

Falange Creeperiano – Captain Óscar Únzaga Vega

Camisas Negras – Caudillo Carlos Hernández Videla

Foreign military support

In the early months of the siege, various foreign volunteers and military units arrived in Creeperopolis to fight on behalf of either the Imperial or National Council in the siege. Foreign volunteers and military units were either sent by national governments or arrived on their own behalf on the basis of ideological beliefs.

The Imperial Council received support from four foreign nations: Castilliano, Lyoa, New Gandor, and Rakeo. The Castillianan government raised the Castillianan Expeditionary Force (FEC) which was composed of 7,500 volunteer soldiers in May 1946. As the Castillianan government was already an active belligerent in the conflict, many of its volunteers had some military experience from combat earlier in the civil war. The Lyoan government raised the Lyoan Volunteer Legion (LVL) which was composed of 2,500 volunteer soldiers in June 1946. The soldiers were mostly selected by the government to be sent to defend the Lyoan diaspora located in western San Salvador. The Gandorian government sent its 17th Infantry Division which was composed of 8,000 soldiers in August 1946. The military unit was sent in support of the Imperial Council due to ideological reasons, mainly anti-communism. The Rakeoian government sent the Olla Volunteer Force (FVO) which was composed of 9,000 soldiers; the unit was initially sent to support the Imperial Council in June 1938 and was reassigned to San Salvador in June 1946. It was mostly composed of professional soldiers, while some were volunteers, and the unit was sent on anti-communist ideological lines.

The National Council received support from two foreign nations: Ajakanistan and Terranihil. The Ajaki government sent its 130th Rifle Division which was composed of 6,000 soldiers in June 1946. The military unit was sent in support of the National Council due to ideological reasons, mainly in support of communism. The Terranilian government sent its 4th Infantry Division which was composed of 11,000 soldiers in June 1946. The military unit was sent in support of the National Council due to religious reasons, instead of ideological reasons, in opposition of Creeperian Catholicism and in support of National Atheism.

Additionally, some non-government units participated in the fighting. Despite not being organized into an organized military unit, an estimated 1,000 Senvarian mercenaries of the Senvarian Liberation Front (SKBF) were hired by the National Council to fight on their behalf. The National Council and SKBF had already fought together as allies against the Imperial Council during the civil war, with the National Council recognizing the independence of the Kingdom of Senvar (separatist state) in 1934.

Propaganda

During the siege, both the Imperial and National Councils distributed propaganda to promote their own goals and vilify the goals of their opponent. The Imperial Council tended to frame the siege as an atheist and communist attack on Catholicism, the historic monarchy, and the Creeperian people, while the National Council framed the siege as a push for a final victory for liberty, equality, and the Creeperian people against fascism and theocracy.

Commemoration

Monuments

• Monumento al Sito

Literature

Books

• Guerra Civil (2009) by Orlando Pareja Palau
• La'Batalla de San Salvador (1972) by Carlos López Inéz
• La'Segunda Cruzada (1995) by Francisco Bermúdez Castro
• Por'el Amor a la'Patria (2005) by Javíer Tejón Molina

Films and documentaries

• La'Batalla de San Salvador
• La'Segunda Cruzada

Poetry

Legal poetry:

• La'Guerra Final del Romeristo
• La'Lucha Santo por'Dios
• La'Vida deun Romeristo
• San Salvador es Nuestro
• Siempre Lucha por la'Patria

Illegal poetry:

• Ciudad de Miguel es Nuestro
• La'Destrucción del Ciudad de Idiotas
• La'Vida deun Miguelisto

See also

Creeperopolis portal Terraconserva portal

• Battle of San Salvador
• Martyrs of the Creeperian Civil War
• Timeline of the Siege of San Salvador

References

Bibliography

• Castaño Gil, Federico Armando (30 September 1998). Ել Սիտո [The Siege]. The Creeperian Civil War (in Creeperian Spanish). II (2 ed.). San Salvador, Creeperopolis: Impresión Creeperiano. ISBN 978-0-00-816341-9. Retrieved 3 March 2022.CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
• Pareja Palau, Orlando Óscar (1 May 2009). Written at San Romero, Creeperopolis. Գփերրա Ծիվիլ [Civil War]. History of the Fatherland (in Creeperian Spanish). I (2 ed.). San Salvador, Creeperopolis: Impresión Creeperiano. ISBN 978-0-8330-4159-3. Retrieved 3 March 2022.CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
• Pareja Palau, Orlando Óscar (1 February 2013). Written at San Romero, Creeperopolis. Լա'Դե-Ծատօլիզածիօն [The De-Catholization]. History of the Fatherland (in Creeperian Spanish). I (2 ed.). San Salvador, Creeperopolis: Impresión Creeperiano. ISBN 978-0-19-928357-6. Retrieved 3 March 2022.CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
• Pareja Palau, Orlando Óscar (15 September 2016). Written at San Romero, Creeperopolis. Սան Րոմերո Ի [Saint Romero I]. Monarchs of the Fatherland (in Creeperian Spanish). II (2 ed.). San Salvador, Creeperopolis: Impresión Creeperiano. ISBN 9780803207943. Retrieved 3 March 2022.CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)

Further reading

• Pareja Palau, Orlando Óscar (1 September 1998). Written at San Romero, Creeperopolis. Հիստորիա դե Ծատօլիծիսմո [History of Catholicism]. History of the Fatherland (in Creeperian Spanish). II (1 ed.). San Salvador, Creeperopolis: Impresión Creeperiano (published 25 December 1998). ISBN 0-7864-0612-7. Retrieved 3 March 2022.CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)

External links

• Battle of San Salvador (NSIndex; 20 September 2019)
• Siege of San Salvador (IIWiki; 20 January 2020)