The Avalanche of Steel

The Avalanche of Steel is a 2019 movie from Kyrenaia, retelling the story of III./72nd in the Battle of Allaazwrd during the Allaazwrd-Uprising.

Synopsis

The Winter of 1947 begins in the Kyrenaian Territory of Salalkubz, the bread basket of the Sultanate. For five years now, a rebellion ravages the city of Allaazwrd and the surrounding areas, their demands by now forgotten. In 1945, Teressien sent a humanitarian mission of doctors and nurses to aid those affected by the fighting and the fighting is about to end, as Kyrenaian troops of the 72nd Armoured Brigade move towards Allaazwrd and its surroundings.

Rebel leader Mutamarid ignores another offer of Kian-Sultan to surrender, but also refuses to send children into combat, telling them to flee with their families. He knows, the fight is most likely lost, but he hopes, that the downfall of his rebellion would be the spark to incite other rebellions all across the Sultanate and whereever the oppressed want to throw off their shakles.

On the 12th of December, the Brigade enters the area around Allaazwrd, the III. Squadron leading one of the attacks brought forth. The Kyrenaians manage to take much ground, but not uncontested: The Rebels still have some aces up their sleeves, from a defensive line along the Jurj-Hills to captured anti-tank assets and tanks. The 15th Column is led by Nuri Zaeim, who is tasked with defending the village of Jadwal, a small creek running through it, with a bridge spanning it - a bridge, which is large enough for tanks.

Complicating matters is the fact, that Jadwal is home to a hospital of the Teressian Humanitarian Mission and a hub of refugee movements. The nurse Lykke Findehoof works there, working for one of the doctors and by now still not accepting, that she can't help everyone.

Zaeim and Mutamarid are both hell-bent on fulfilling their missions, though, and so, a deadly game of chess begins as both move their respective formations around, probing attacks and defenses, calculating and waiting - until Mutamarid starts the attack with an artillery barrage, uncaring about the refugees. Hundreds, amongst them Lykka's leading doctor, die, while Zaeim brings forth a counterattack.

The two forces clash a little bit outside of the village, with the rebels soon being pushed back into the settlement, where vicious close quarters combat soon erupts - as III./72nd is an armoured squadron, the losses on both sides and on the civilian side rise, with Lykke soon finding soldiers from both sides under her care.

For days on end, the fighting rages, the village is effectively destroyed and hundreds of people die. Warcrimes mount: Assuming the convoy to be enemy reinforcements, Zaeim has his mortars shoot at a refugee convoy, which is all but wiped out. Mukhalas has captured rebels being hung by the neck (in the Kyrenaian culture an especially undignified way of execution).

The fighting ends a week later, with the last rebels in the village surrendering. The village is all but destroyed, Mukhalas killing the prisoners, while Lykke organizes a refugee trek away. The last scene shows them departing for somewhere else, Mukhalas sitting on his command tank as he watches them walk past. Lykke's and the Major's eyes meet for but a moment.

The end card shows the report of Mukhalas to his higher ups: A small card with the report, that they captured Jadwal and its bridge, with a short report on how many rebels were killed or captured and how many men and tanks he lost, the refugees being unmentioned.

Cast

• Yari Mlfaeil - Mutamarid, leader of the Rebels.
• Danyal Bifarah - Nuri Zaeim, Leader of the 15th Column.
• Farid Raqiq - Major Amir Mukhalas, Commanding Officer, III./72nd.
• Enya Cíochach of the Tribe of Navan - Lykke Findehoof, member of the Humanitarian Mission of the Principality of Teressien in Allaazwrd. Enya is actually Lykke's grandniece.

Historical Background

Vehicles used

• Armoured Vehicles and tanks:
  • Muharib Infantry Tanks.
  • Ruathar Fast Tanks.

Reception

Within Kyrenaia, the movie received widespread critical acclaim.

The movie premiered on the 13th of February 2019 in Kyrenaia, being first shown in theatres in Allaazwrd, Hamia (garrison of the 72nd Armoured Brigade) and Megido. In 2019, the movie also premiered its English Dub in the Free Lands, during the 2019 Iris Boarding School Sensha-Do Convention. The real Lykke Findehoof, who was played by her grandniece, was present both for the premiere in Allaazwrd and at the Iris Boarding School Complex, in both cases with Enya.