The Battle of Helsin Fields

Years upon years of dispute over the province of Silania drove officials of the states of Thesia and Virskaia to madness alike in how to solve the matter peacefully when neither nation was willing to accept terms. Made up of a majority ethnic Thesian population but held under the sovereign control of Virskaia, Silania was a jewel in the eye of Thesia, and one that they saw as rightfully theirs. Tensions throughout the years had boiled and simmered into conflict when Thesian troops marched beyond the borders of Virskaia in undeclared total war. Caught off-guard, many Virskaian border garrisons stood no chance.

It was also in Silania itself that the first major fighting took place, near to the farmland of a Sir Izaak Helsin, wealthy local politician and namesake of the battle. In a brief if not bloody encounter, the 19th Armoured Division under Roman Lutev smashed Virskaian lines with little resistance, breaking through the ranks with a morbid ease. Lutev later recounted in his memoirs, "We drove them from the field in troves, killing any that weren't fast enough to press on with a persistence that made me fear my own men. I observed a single tank of my ranks chasing an entire group of stragglers as they ran helplessly. They had no chance from the start.”