The Sprodvice Provisional Directorate was an unrecognized secessionist state and military coalition that fought against the Centralist Faction during the Kresimirian Unification War (1918–1921). It was led by Milos Hrdlicka, a Vosti nobleman.
Formed in the immediate chaotic aftermath of the collapse of the Vosti Empire, the Directorate sought to carve out the southern, Pravoslavic-majority territories of the former empire and unite them with the newly independent ethno-state of Boskenmark. Its defeat led directly to the forced incorporation of the Bosken population into the Divine Republic of Kresimiria, sparking a century of ethnic tension and insurgency.
Command of the Directorate forces was given to General Falko Kiesewetter. He attempted to construct a fortified “Southern Wall” to halt the Centralist advance, but his conventional military tactics failed to anticipate the total war strategies employed by his rival, General Loncar, culminating in the disaster at Ravna Skrad.
Origins and Ideology
Under the Vosti Empire, the geographic dividing line between the Sanctian north and the Pravoslavic south was blurry. When the Empire collapsed in November 1918, the Centralist Faction in Sinj—led by Filip Novak and Kresimir Basic—declared a new Kresimirian state that claimed jurisdiction over the entire historic “Grand Duchy,” which included the southern district of Moraviskameja.
Fearing religious persecution and cultural erasure under a fundamentalist Kresimirian government, local Bosken nobles, wealthy merchants, and Pravoslavic clergy convened a council in the city of Sprodvice on November 15, 1918.
The Declaration of Sprodvice
Led by the aristocrat Milos Hrdlicka, the council issued a declaration rejecting the authority of Sinj. They proclaimed the “Sprodvice Provisional Directorate,” a provisional government whose stated and singular objective was to hold the southern territories until they could be formally annexed by Boskenmark.
Military Campaign
The Directorate possessed a significant initial advantage: numbers. While the Centralists had the highly trained imperial core under General Dominik Loncar, the Directorate mobilized a massive, if disorganized, volunteer army. Command was given to General Falko Kiesewetter, a former Vosti officer who defected to the southern cause.
Early Successes (1918–1919)
The Directorate quickly secured District X and pushed north into the plains of District VII and District IX. Their strategy was to create a “buffer zone” deep within Kresimirian territory to force a negotiated partition. However, they failed to capture the industrial hub of Novi Otonik, depriving them of domestic arms manufacturing and forcing a heavy reliance on smuggled weapons from Boskenmark.
The Turning Point: Ravna Skrad (1920)
The Directorate’s high-water mark ended at the Siege of Ravna Skrad. General Pevic fortified the city, intending to break the Centralist army against its walls. Instead, General Loncar encircled the city, initiating a brutal six-month siege during the winter of 1920.
The fall of Ravna Skrad in February 1921 was a catastrophe for the Directorate. General Pevic committed suicide, and the loss of 15,000 troops shattered their capacity to wage conventional war. The provisional government fled from Sprodvice to Brod Moravice.
The Final Stand and Defeat (1921)
In desperation, the Directorate invoked its defense pact with Boskenmark, drawing the southern neighbor directly into the war. In May 1921, the combined Directorate and Boskenmark forces were decisively defeated by Loncar at the Battle of the Brod Ford.
Following the battle, the Boskenmark regular army retreated across the border, effectively abandoning the Directorate. The Centralist forces occupied Brod Moravice, and the Directorate formally dissolved.
Legacy and Aftermath
The Kresimirian state treated the Directorate not as a legitimate belligerent, but as a treasonous rebellion.
- Disenfranchisement: The political leadership of the Directorate was either executed or forced into exile in Boskenmark. To ensure the south could never rise again, the 1921 Constitution enacted the Faith Restriction Clause, legally stripping the Pravoslavic population of their citizenship.
- The Insurgency: Not all Directorate fighters surrendered. A young captain named Lev Ruka, who had commanded the “Black Brigades” during the retreat, vanished into the hills with a cache of weapons. Six months later, he founded the terrorist group BRC-21, transforming the conventional war of the Directorate into a forty-year guerrilla insurgency. <!– — END OF FILE sprodvice_provisional_directorate.md —
Retrospective Updates
For the Kresimirian Unification War article:
Update to “Background - The November Decrees”: In response to the Centralist declaration in Sinj, southern leaders convened in the city of Sprodvice. Fearing persecution by the Sanctian majority, they proclaimed the Sprodvice Provisional Directorate, an unrecognized state dedicated to seceding from Kresimirian claims and uniting the region with Boskenmark.
For the Lev Ruka article:
Update to “Early Life and Unification War”: Ruka began his military career fighting for the Sprodvice Provisional Directorate. As a young officer, he witnessed the devastating defeat at Ravna Skrad and the subsequent abandonment of the Bosken people by the regular army of Boskenmark, an experience that convinced him that only a ruthless, independent insurgency could secure Bosken freedom.
For the Sprodvice article:
Update to “History - The Militant Hub”: The city holds deep historical significance for the Bosken people as the birthplace of the Sprodvice Provisional Directorate. It served as the provisional capital of the secessionist government from 1918 until the Centralist advance forced the leadership to flee to Brod Moravice in 1921, marking the beginning of its long history of resistance against Sinj. –>