The Siege of Ravna Skrad (Winter 1920–1921) was a decisive military engagement of the Kresimirian Unification War.
Fought between the Centralist Faction of Sinj and the Eastern Pravoslavic Confederacy, the six-month siege determined the fate of the central plains. The battle is infamous for its brutality, characterized by trench warfare, heavy artillery bombardment, and the starvation of the defending garrison during one of the harshest winters on record.
The Centralist victory, masterminded by General Dominik Loncar, broke the back of the Confederate army and opened the strategic corridor to the south, paving the way for the invasion of Moraviskameja and the eventual establishment of the Divine Republic.
Background
The Strategic Bottleneck
Ravna Skrad sits on the “Faith Line,” the geographic and cultural boundary between the Kresimirian north and the Bosken south. It controls the primary rail junction connecting the capital, Sinj, to the southern city of Brod Moravice.
Following the collapse of the Vosti Empire in 1918, Confederate forces under General Falko Kiesewetter seized the city. They fortified the medieval citadel and the surrounding hills, intending to use Ravna Skrad as a bulwark to prevent Kresimirian forces from entering the southern heartland.
The Northern Flank
By late 1920, General Loncar had secured his rear. He had signed the Bistrica Armistice with Antonio Iric in the north and a non-aggression pact with the Republic of Kaskiv in the east. However, his attempt to outflank Ravna Skrad through the mountains was blocked when the Alandir Confederacy refused to grant military access, forcing Loncar into a direct assault on the fortified city.
The Siege
Encirclement (October 1920)
On October 12, 1920, Centralist forces severed the railway lines north and south of the city. Loncar deployed his heavy artillery—scavenged from Imperial armories in Dubica—on the ridges overlooking the city. By November, the encirclement was complete. General Kiesewetter, commanding 15,000 Confederate regulars and volunteers, refused the demand to surrender.
The “White Hunger” (December 1920 – January 1921)
The winter of 1920 was exceptionally severe. Temperatures dropped to -20°C. Loncar adopted a strategy of starvation, shelling the city’s grain silos (the precursors to the NGT infrastructure) to deny food to the defenders.
Inside the city, conditions were horrific. Civilians and soldiers alike resorted to eating cavalry horses and burning furniture for warmth. This period is known in Bosken history as the “White Hunger.” Kiesewetter attempted several breakouts, but his starving troops were cut down by Centralist machine-gun positions entrenched in the frozen fields.
The Fall (February 1921)
On February 10, a Centralist sapper unit detonated a mine beneath the city’s northern wall, creating a breach. After three days of vicious house-to-house fighting, the Confederate defensive lines collapsed.
Realizing the battle was lost, General Kiesewetter retreated to the city’s cathedral. On February 14, rather than surrendering to Loncar, Kiesewetter committed suicide by pistol. His remaining staff surrendered shortly after.
Aftermath
The fall of Ravna Skrad was the death knell for the Confederacy.
- Military Collapse: The loss of their best general and their largest field army left the south defenseless.
- The Southern Advance: With the rail line secure, Loncar was able to move his army rapidly south, leading to the Battle of the Brod Ford in May 1921.
- Special Status: In recognition of the city’s strategic importance and the blood spilled there, the 1921 Constitution granted Ravna Skrad “Special Status of Divinity.”
Legacy
The siege is remembered differently across the divided nation.
- In Kresimiria: It is celebrated as a triumph of will. The anniversary of the victory is a local holiday in District VII, often marked by military parades.
- In Moraviskameja: It is mourned as a tragedy. The “Martyrs of Skrad” are honored by the BLF, and the alleged shelling of civilian food supplies by Loncar remains a primary grievance in the historical narrative of the south.