| Battle of Lake Maracaibo | |||||||
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 The Royal Venezuelan Militia preparing to cross the railroad bridge. |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| File:Flag of the Kingdom of Texas.svg Kingdom of Texas File:Flag of the Duchy of Venezuela.svg Duchy of Venezuela |  Venezuela
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Colonel Gabriel Xuemmena Fleet Admiral Joseph Manning  General Antonio Guerrero
|  Henry Rangel Silva
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| Strength | |||||||
| 1st-3rd Elite Battalions 3,750 Texan Oceanic Fleet 50,000 Venezuelan Royal Militia 14,750 Pro-Texan groups 2,400 ---- 70,900 Total | Venezuelan Army 27,520 Venezuelan Navy 48,800 ---- 76,320 Total |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 5,347 Texan fatalities 1 Texan battleship out-of-service 8,457 Duchy fatalities | 52,166 fatalities Navy capitulated |
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The Battle of Lake Maracaibo was the first battle of the Liquidation of Venezuela. It was fought near the mouth of Lake Maracaibo between the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the Texas-Duchy alliance.
Background[]
On July 26th, 2012, the Kingdom of Texas declared war on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and established the client state the Duchy of Venezuela. With the Hurian invasion force gone, the Texan government continued its own invasion of Venezuela and pledged a larger amount of troops to the region. However, its troops already in Venezuela were minimal at the time of the declaration, giving the Venezuelan Army a chance to destroy the Texan defense before the war actually started. Using the information that the main invasion and occupation force of the Kingdom of Texas would arrive two days later, the Republic of Venezuela sent 27,520 ground troops, its entire Navy and nearly 80 armoured vehicles to destroy the garrison of only 3,750 Texan Army troops and 30,000 Texan sailors.
Timeline[]
Time is in US Central.
- 5:44 AM - Venezuelan Army troops begin an assault on the Texan garrison at Barrancas.
- 5:56 AM - The Texan troops on the other side of Lake Maracaibo mobilize across the bridge.
- 5:58 AM - The Texan Oceanic Fleet begins fighting with the Venezuelan Navy at the mouth of Lake Maracaibo.
- 6:10 AM - The Venezuelan Royal Militia crosses the railroad bridge north of Barrancas at Sabaneta de Palmas, and attacks the Venezuelans that had positioned themselves there.
- 6:12 AM - A total of twenty cruise missiles hit near La Mocha, San Benito and Santa Rita, where a heavy concentration of Venezuelan troops gathered. Over 2,000 are estimated to have been killed by the attack, and around 1,000 more injured.
- 6:19 AM - The Oceanic Fleet has held off the Venezuelan Armada without losing a single ship yet, and has sunk Venezuela's two submarines and a frigate. The Fleet has only sustained light damage, and is still able to fight at full capacity.
- 6:23 AM - The Venezuelan Armada is hit by a barrage of four cruise missiles. The attack sinks Venezuela's only three missile cruisers, and another frigate. One Texan ship, the HGV Paluxy sustained heavy damage, and docked at Maracaibo before it sunk. The Armada begins showing signs of retreat, but the Oceanic Fleet pushes harder.
- 6:25 AM - Venezuelan Army troops breach the Texan line of defense and take up urban positions in the brewery in southern Barrancas.
- 6:32 AM - The Oceanic Fleet has inflicted massive damage on Venezuela's Navy while only having one ship put out of service. Only one frigate and one patrol boat were able to get away without damage, but all other Venezuelan Naval ships are damaged beyond repair or sunk.
- 6:38 AM - The Royal Venezuelan Militia succeeds in defeating an armour column that was approaching the Texans from the north. With the Venezuelan Navy gone, the Oceanic Fleet assists the ground troops with shelling and littoral combat.
- 6:43 AM - The Texas-Duchy forces near the bridge into Maracaibo sustain moderate damage from Venezuelan shelling, but the Oceanic Fleet is able to eliminate the Venezuelan artillery before extensive damage is sustained.
- 6:49 AM - Texan forces successfully retake the brewery, and use its position along Route 3 to stop any further armoured advances towards the bridge. The Duchy Forces begin expanding out around the bridge to re-secure the area.
- 6:54 AM - A second wave of Venezuelan Army forces arrives, but the Texas-Duchy forces hold the line. Several independent Venezuelan groups have even joined Texan and Venezuelan soldiers.
- 6:59 AM - Texan and Duchy forces begin consolidating around the bridges, and continue holding the Venezuelan Army off at those locations. The Oceanic Fleet continues its barrage of Venezuelan ground troops.
- 7:03 AM - Texan and Duchy forces barricade themselves under the two bridges into Maracaibo, and the constant barrage of the Oceanic Fleet also keeps up the defensive measures. The flow of Venezuelan Army soldiers begins to thin out.
- 7:08 AM - The flow of Venezuelan Army soldiers ends, and the Texan and Duchy forces begin advancing in all directions. The Oceanic Fleet ends its barrage, but it kept ready should it be needed again.
- 7:11 AM - Texan forces near the road bridge take up new positions with better coverage, while Duchy forces near the railroad bridge have done the same. The pro-Texan groups have also bunkered in with the Texan soldiers. A third and final wave of Venezuelans is advancing on radar, but Texan-Duchy troops are prepared.
- 7:17 AM - Two cruise missiles strike the approaching Venezuelan Army troops, and the Oceanic Fleet reopens its volley. The troops are not in range of Texan-Duchy forces, but show no signs of slowing despite heavy damage.
- 7:21 AM - The final Venezuelan wave failed, and losses are heavy on both sides of the battle. There is no signs of an approaching Venezuelan wave, so what is left of Texan and Duchy forces celebrate the "against all odds" victory.
Aftermath[]
Because Texas and the Duchy won the battle, the invasion of Venezuela would not have stopped shorthand. Instead, the high amount of losses on the side of Venezuela further crippled the nation's chances of actually defeating the Kingdom of Texas. The Duchy of Venezuela was able to expand its claims eastwards of Lake Maracaibo to Mene de Muaro. Overall, the victory allowed for three major points to be made;
- Texas was not leaving soon,
- The Duchy would ultimately take control of Venezuela,
- The people of Venezuela could trust the Texan government.