NOTE: If there are any major gaps in the timeline, that just means that nothing major happened in that time.
The Moldovan Civil war was a civil conflict that was fought throughout the nation of Moldova. It lasted from the 6th of June 2021 to the 14th of February 2022. There were 4 main factions in the civil war, and these included:
- Pro-Unificationist Forces (PPR, Which fought for the unification of Moldova and Romania. This was supported by Romania and their allies.)
- Government Loyalists (Forces who stayed loyal to the Moldovan government)
- The Gagauzian Liberation Front (A small Guerilla army that was fighting for the independence of Gagauzia, who had been fighting for independence for decades before.)
- The Transnistrian Liberation Force (A Faction who fought for the recognition of Transnistria as it's own state. This was supported by The Russian Federation, The People's Republic of China, and multiple other close allies.)
A Romanian tank Battalion bombarding Gagauzi forces after the battle of Cahul,
Background and leadup to the civil war[]
Ever since the Covid-19 outbreak, Moldova has had rather high infection rates because of the government's poor handling of the situation. Day by day, Moldova was entering a stage of no return. A stage of anarchy. Multiple small militias across the corners of Moldova started fighting against each other. However, the center of Moldova, Chisinau, remained calm for it's size. The government managed to supress any sort of protests or riots in the Chisinau area, until the 27th of May came around. A rumour spread in the Romanian government that Romanian protesters weren't treated well because they were Romanian. Romania spread this across the media and outrage from the international community sparked. Romania had been undergoing major revamps in it's Military, and they knew now was the time to strike. Romanian soldiers had high morale, because they had the law on their side.
On the 2th of June, the PRC and Russian Federation announced their support of the Transnistrian regime, and Turkey showed signs of shipping supplies to Gagauzia militia. These were underspoken in the media, however, as most were focused on the humanitarian crisis in Moldova.
Start of the war (June-July)[]
On the 6th of June, out of thin air, The Transnistrian government announced that ''the war for liberation has continued.'' Within a few minutes of this reaching the media, multiple large skirmishes occured between Moldova and Transnistria. This is considered the start of the conflict.
Transnistrian forces held their ground for the first few weeks as Russian and Chinese supplies and reinforcements would continue coming in larger numbers. Multiple Gagauzia Militia would band together into a single organisation, known as the Gagauzian Liberation Front. They would declare war on the Moldovan government on the 19th of June 2021. Moldova was already struggling with 2 fronts and internal issues, but it would get worse when July would hit.
On the 4th of July, PPR Forces would start multiple skirmishes in the northern area of Moldova. Balti would fall within a few hours, but a stalemate would soon hit the PPR aswell.
Frontlines[]
Gagauzian forces are sieging Cahul and occupy the southern tip of Moldova as of the 31st of July 2021. Transnistrian frontlines have barely changed, and PPR forces are stuck in a stalemate while struggling to defend Balti.
Romanian Intervention (August-October)[]
On the 3rd of August, Moldovan forces started making a comeback, as the air battle would be dominated by Pro-government aircraft. This would help paratroopers become a major player in the conflict. Paratroopers were used to surround PPR forces in Balti. In just 3 hours, PPR forces re-established a connection with the main frontline and evacuated Balti with 87% of the remaining men making it. The battle of Balti would be the most bloody battle in the war. 19,465 Men were lost in battle, while 7,353 remained injured.
After the PPR's successful evacuation, Romanian forces started begging their generals to intervene on the side of the PPR. With a little bit of hesitation, the government declared war on Moldova on the 27th of August. Within days, multiple amphibious assaults were launched across the Prut river and a large majority of the Moldovan army defected to Romania. Cahul would be captured by Romanian forces within the first day, and would start an advance against Gagauzi forces . On the 4th of September, The Gaugazi government would approach Klaus Iohannis with these terms:
- In the case of Romanian victory in the war, Gaugazia shall be annexed with a high degree of autonomy.
- Gaugazians will have the ability to travel across the border of Ukraine.
- Gaugazia will be able to recruit it's own military.
Klaus Iohannis agreed to these terms, and Gagauzia was now aligned to the most powerful faction in the conflict.
Within the 31st of October, Romanian forces had occupied the Prut river entirely, destroying Moldova's only trade system. Chisinau was already in the sight of the Romanians. Transnistria, on the over hand, had been pushed back to an even smaller slither than it formally was. Balti was already captured by the Romanians again, and Tiraspol was a battle between Moldova, Romania and Transnistria.
The conflict closing up (November-January)[]
By the 6th of November, Morale on all sides was low after many months of fighting. Moldova was already dying out as an idea and Transnistria's fate was already written on the coffin. Romania and the international community were undeniably the victors of this conflict.
By the 13th , Peace negotiations started with Romania and Moldova, although by the 26th these lead to nowhere.
As the final days of the conflict were closing on everyone, Romanian generals saw a chance in destroying Transnistria and Moldova once and for all. An offensive was called for on the 4th of December.
On the 7th, the offensive was approved by the government and it started. Chisinau was under siege by the 16th, and it was the last major settlement the Moldovans held. On the 19th, Tiraspol fell to Romania and Transnistrian forces surrendered. Moldova and Romania agreed to a truce between the 20th of December and the 4th of January to celebrate Christmas and the new year. During the truce, Romanians and Moldovans alike shared gifts to each other and celebrated; much like the Christmas truce in WW1. However, when the 4th of January came around, no fighting happened. Until, at 8:56 in the morning, the last Moldovan forces came onto the streets of Chisinau with their hands up. After some investigation, it turns out a Moldovan mutiny happened; all of Moldova's generals that were at the battle were killed. The citizens of Chisinau cheered on and celebrated as they heard the news at 12:09 UTC; The Moldovan government had surrendered.
The Peace Treaty (February)[]
On the 12th of January, officials from Romania, Gaugazia, Transnistria and Moldova came around a courthouse with a shattered window in Chisinau to discuss the treaty.
On the 14th of February, The treaty was ratified and was released to the public. The terms were the following:
- The state of Moldova shall cease to exist and shall be annexed by the Republic of Romania.
- Transnistria shall become occupied by the UN for 20 years; after that, it shall either be annexed by Ukraine or transition to a Democratic government.
- Gaugazia shall be annexed by Romania while holding a high level of autonomy
- The UN shall help Romania reconstruct Moldova.
Aftermath (March and beyond)[]
After the conflict, the political climate in Eastern Europe changed. Tensions between Russia and NATO grew as Romania (a NATO member) had recently annexed a former ally of Russia. Moldova's life standards would drastically increase over the years, but would pull away alot of funds from the Romanian government to rebuild itself. Moldova would be fully integrated into Romanian society by 2031, but Moldova wasn't forgotten by the (now mostly Pro-Romanian) population of Moldova.
CASUALTIES[]
Romania and PPR Forces: 16045 Dead, 7,464 Injured
Transnistrian Forces: 24,539 Dead, 4,543 Injured
Gagauzian Forces: 674 Dead, 1,464 Injured
Moldovan Loyalists: 45,364 Dead, 9,564 Injured
Civillians: 7,563 Dead, 23,564 Injured
Total Deaths: 94185
Total Injuries: 46,599