Background
Libya burns as the wrath of warlords scour throughout the sands. For many years the populace is under the whim of the ambitious and ruthless: From rich slavers to enigmatic cults, the chaotic strife has paved the rise of these factions to fruition. One of them resides within Bani Walid - a humble town of thousands unscathed by the calamities of war. Bounded by fringe clansman and adventurers, these people hold the ideas and values of Gaddafi’s vision, bearing the name of his color - the Green Army.
Toppling their tyrannical mayor for hoarding their bushels of grain, the townsman cheered as they begin to share it amongst them. Weeks since then, the army begins to sloth away as their rule has become paramount and complacency seeps to the core. Their commander slumps into vanity as he begins to view himself as a man of excellence - stamping himself with thousands of titles inconceivable by his own.
Their indulgement over their victory ended abruptly however as news from the south shocked them. The Ali Clique, hungry for spoils and loot once more, has declared their intent to raid the unscathed town and demand the screams of the entire populace for the thrill of war. Frightened, they scrounge every plan of defense and muster every man, women, and children into their fold. This causes a chaotic streak as their mismanagement has wasted valuable resource for nothing. They slumped to their lowest point as the commander, fearing for his torturous demise and leaving his men the abyss, ended his own life with a gun to his head.
His death shocked them all, their leader who once leads to their triumph has fallen to his own despair. Weeks before the clash, they begin to vote for whoever should lead them all but none of them are willing, fearing that their guidance could inadvertently lead to their fall. But as they begin to bicker over who should take charge, a knock echoed through the halls. They open the door and met a man with white tattered clothes and dark skin. They ask who he is and why he came uninvited.
He offers them his help and comes by with a simple name - Za’im the Tuareg.
Army Composition
Green Army: The Green Army is composed of more than 2000 men, half of them are levied from their homes. Originally intended to amass more than 20,000 into the fold, it was ultimately scrapped as Za’im argued that the premise was insane and reduced to the most capable. From technicians to even carpenters, these levied militias will eventually provide their trade and skills to bolster their defense - improvising deadly traps and complex fortification. The thousand original members of the army are people who fought since the first civil war, they’re experienced soldiers and committed to cause albeit they can’t be described as disciplined.
Their weapons are mostly leftovers from the Bani Walid Airfield and the mayor’s arsenal near the former, hundreds of rifles and 7 artillery were used during the fight. Trucks scrounged from the streets was also used during the conflict, served to quickly mobilize their troops.
Ali Clique: Being one of the remaining splinter factions of Haftar’s Army, they have more than 9000 soldiers ready to raid villages and hamlets and reaping the spoils of their onslaught. Infamous for their brutality and recklessness: they’re one of the most dysfunctional bands of marauders to seep across the lands as the tumulous amount of infighting between officers has caused more of their men to die than fighting against others.
Stolen from the Haftar’s Great Arsenal before the collapse, the cliques wield hundreds of trucks and ten of their most valuable tanks - provided by both the Russians and French. The latest of their generation, its technological prowess gives them an edge against their larger foes.
Leaders
Za’im the Tuareg: Bearing an Arabic surname despite his heritage and appearing to their doorstep coincidentally after their old commander’s death, he was an enigmatic personality to the Green Army. Despite this, however, he’s one their gifted and determined of his new brethren: he provided detailed defensive plans and reformed their structure from a formless band to resilient force. He also taught the militias everything from reloading a gun and manning an artillery gun.
His plans to win the battle to form a flexible line of defense covering the route of their raid: from the unnamed district of the north to B’ir Sawabir and Manasir. They’ll flank both sides as the enemy pushes deep into the center, striking them at the right time and place.
Clique Officers: Unlike the rest of their comrades, they’re not humbled by a single commander but rather squabble as a series of officers united under the splendor of raiding for spoils. Despite this entropy, however, they can be described as pseudo-democratic; at least they’re willing to vote on their actions before coming to fruition - leading their army under the whim of their slow decision-making.
Environment
Bani Walid is a simple town that houses more than 90,000 people. It’s one of the few cities spared from the first chaotic days after Haftar’s death, despite its decaying infrastructure. It has managed to sustain itself for many years due to taking advantage of the Great Manmade River, wells, and the natural riverbed called a Wadi for each heavy rainfall. It’s also a town marked hills and valleys surrounding the city as it covers almost the entirety of Bani Walid with narrow corridors and tall hilltops, shadowing some of the local neighborhoods.
Chronological Order of Battle
Prelude: Za’im sends seven of his sharpest men to the hillsides to watch over the highway leading to Bani Walid. Provided with radio comms, smoke signals, and their last remaining horses from the town fair, they galloped to the highest peak and set their camps at midnight - waiting for the impending battle.
It’s dawn and the clique has arrived in droves, with hundreds of trucks and soldiers funneling through the interstate. They set their post at an isolated hamlet far away few kilometers away from Bani Walid and wait for the rest of their detachment to regroup - with more than 2000 men left behind to prepare their own stockpile.
(1) 09:15: Before retreating to the hillsides, the scouts launched their smoke signals upon the idle forces. Alerted by the hailing green smoke, the orchestra fired upon the hamlet. It was a lukewarm endeavor, however, as they inflicted less than they expected, albeit managing to destroy have of their supplies.
With no other choice, Ali Clique rushed themselves to march through the town in order to avoid another barrage and to secure the north and even the town center. By this point, the Battle of Bani Walid has begun.
(2) 10:15: A detachment of the Green Army ambushed the hastened clique as they scuttle through like a horde. They barraged them with gunfire and firebombs from both of their flanks as they trek deeper into the empty alleys and streets. They shot down one of the tanks caterpillar tracks as their exposed flank give them an opportunity to pierce it through.
Accompanied by tripwires and improvised mines, some of the officers’ men have the unfortunate mishap to stumbling through their traps planted across the neighborhood. With each house bursting with debris and dust, nearly half of the casualties they’ve inflicted are caused by their well-hidden traps.
(3) 13:20: After hours of bickering from their officers and logistical woes, their detachment from Bir Dufan has finally made it to the eastern fringes of Bani Walid. They struggled through the same onslaught as their western comrade faced, albeit to a lesser degree.
They managed to stop their tanks trekking through the narrow streets and razed the crowded trucks into pieces of scorched scraps. But despite their efforts to slow them down, they were unable to cover the vast plains without cycling through to each district with the numbers of men they have. Forcing them to splinter as they cover both sides with numbers too few to defend the area.
(4) 14:25: With their men from the north suffering from the chaotic onslaught, the forces from east splintered into two smaller detachments: with one supporting the main bulk and the latter to push further south. This decision has elevated the suppression of their maneuver with the Green Army surprised by their proximity.
Some of the defenders were pushed back near to Al-Mdrom bridge while the rest were forced to retreat to the abandoned detention center, reinforcing them with a piece of block and furniture as they can muster.
(5) 15:05: As the half of the eastern detachment merged with the northern regiment, they faced another challenge as they begin to view the facility as a threat to their rear and eventually to the rest of the troops still mustering over Aswaah.
The siege over the Detention Center was a disastrous endeavor as the Green Army valiantly defended it with great determination and zeal. Hundreds have died fighting from corridor-to-corridor, blasted from every corner they turn to as the makeshift barricades proved to be more resilient than they anticipated.
(6) 15:45: Some of the officers have finally pushed the defenders off from the bridge and the gateway to Al-Mdrom but at a great cost. The narrow hills and corridors provided them the advantage as they kill them one-by-one by gaining the higher ground and they can’t coordinate through the alley and smaller valleys without facing the potential fear of ambushes.
This advantage also slowed down the clique as they prepare to mobilize their counteroffensive from the Bani Walid Airport, with their toughest men riding behind the back of their armored gun trucks to haul them over.
(7) 16:25: After hours of struggling to reach the town center’s roundabout, they have finally secured the area - including the pristine Bani Walid Museum. However, they sign for relief has not come to save them as the rest of their forces are still idle within the confines of Aswaah. Desperate, they begin to rally their men for a retreat.
But their hopes to secure Bani Walid has dissipated as the shock troops from the airport was mobilized, cutting through their salient and eventually trapping them inside a tiny pocket surrounding the roundabout.
(8) 18:35: The remaining forces are stuck, clinging to every corner they see as the fear of Green Army seeping through their barricades. Many officers have taken their own lives just to spare themselves from the impending retribution they’re going to face. But eventually the last of the commanding officers surrendered to the Green Army as the sun begins to set, thus ending the war.
Aftermath
The last remaining soldiers from Aswaah has arrived, but instead of a camp full of lights and drunken men, they witness an abandoned hamlet and hazing trails of smoke flying over the horizon. Communications fall blank; nothing more endless static. Few have escaped and survived, recounting the ferocity of the battle and the futility to turn the tide. With nowhere to go and the skies falling dark, the officers of the detachment returned to their holdings - leaving the town alone for good.
The Green Army celebrated this triumph and the people chants songs of their victory, but it was abrupt as Za’im begin a formulate for another campaign to crush the Ali Clique once and for all. Some of his men refused; argued that Bani Walid and their numbers were enough but he convinced them eventually. They propelled their campaign to crush the remaining forces on March 15th, securing Aswaah, Qaryat, Bir Dufan, Al-Jeen, At Matim, and Duyaib in over a week With their territories secured, they acquired plethoras of loot accumulated by the clique since the start of the Third Civil War.
The army eventually respects him and put aside their suspicions over his ambiguity and kinship: even forming a camaraderie with his two commanders - Omar Rashid and Idris Busayf. With their boundaries secured, Za’im falls back to the shadows and plans over the details of his next campaign.
