View source for War of the Century

{{DISPLAYTITLE:Endelaus War}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict    = Endelaus War
| width       = 315px
| partof      = 
| image       = Screenshot 2024-08-31 003650.jpg
| image_size  = 300px
| alt         =
| caption     = '''Clockwise from top left:''' 
Kalythian [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft%20carrier aircraft carrier] KOF Immortal departing for the Endelaus Sea, 1950 - Sarlaiyan EM/VIII [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fighter%20aircraft fighters] over southern Kalythia, 1916 - Sarlaiyan vehicle convoy en route to participate in the [[Battle of Idas Pass]], 1946 - Sarlaiyan foot soldiers regrouping in a trench at the [[Battle of Dominus Sein]], 1923 - Forest fires engulfing the [[Cardana National Forest]] during [[Operation Iron Dusk]], 1909 - Ruined streets of [[Hanna]] after a Kalythian firebombing raid, 1944
| date        = 11 March 1905 - 25 November 1958
(53 years, 8 months, and 14 days)
| place       = Kalythia - Sarlaiya - Endelaus Sea
| coordinates = <!--Use the {{coord}} template -->
| map_type    = 
| map_relief  = 
| map_size    = 
| map_marksize = 
| map_caption = 
| map_label   = 
| territory   = 
| result      = See [[Aftermath]]
| status      = 
| combatants_header = Belligerents
| combatant1  = [[Order of the Kalythian Star|Kalythia]]
| combatant2  = [[Empire of Sarlaiya|Sarlaiya]]
| combatant3  = [[Coalition of the United Front]]
| commander1  = [[Upper Council of the Kalythian Ministerial Government|Upper Council]]
| commander2  = [[Empress Serena XII]]
| commander3  = [[Joint Endelaus Conflict Command|JECCOM]]
| units1      = 
| units2      = 
| units3      = 
| strength1   = 
| strength2   = 
| strength3   = 
| casualties1 = 
'''Civilian dead:'''
43,000,000 - 48,000,000 
'''Military dead:'''
17,000,000 - 25,000,000
'''Total dead:'''
Over 60,000,000
(1905-1958)
| casualties2 = 
'''Civilian dead:'''
10,000,000 - 15,000,000 
'''Military dead:'''
26,000,000 - 37,000,000
'''Total dead:'''
Over 35,000,000
(1905-1948)
| casualties3 = 
'''Military dead:'''
9,000,000 - 15,000,000
(1931-1958)
| notes       = 
| campaignbox = 
}}

The '''Endelaus War''', sometimes referred to as the '''Third Phase of the Azure War''' and in Sarlaiya as the '''War of the Century''' (11 March 1905 - 25 November 1958), was a conflict fought between the [[Empire of Sarlaiya]], [[Order of the Kalythian Star]] and a [[Coalition of the United Front|large assortment of coalition powers]], following and sometimes encompassing the [[Azure War|earlier conflict]] which took place strictly between Kalythia and Sarlaiya. The latter included support from a multitude of vassal and client states. The war, which directly developed from disputes regarding [[Battanes Affair|the sovereignty over several archipelagos in the Endelaus Sea]], intensified into a major global conflict after both nations ordered numerous illegal attacks against civilian merchant vessels of neutral nations suspected of aiding the other side.

Kalythia-Sarlaiya relations had remained poor since the beginning of the 20th century as a direct result of ideological disagreements between the generally [[wikipedia:Republicanism|republican]] Kalythians and [[wikipedia:Monarchism|monarchist]] Sarlaiyans. Both countries had vied for uncontested control of the [[Endelaus Sea]] since the early 1890s along with the body's natural resources, especially crude oil and coal. Concerned about [[Kalythian Oceanic Forces|Kalythian naval superiority]] in the region, Sarlaiya initiated the conflict by preemptively sailing a naval task group over the Endelaus Sea and attacking numerous Kalythian coastal military installations, before launching an [[Operation Dandelion Scatter|amphibious assault on the Kalythian southern coast]].

The Azure War is sometimes grouped together with the larger Endelaus War by historians and the overall conflict is subdivided into three major phases. [[Invasion phase of the Azure War|The first phase]] (1905 - 1917) is characterized by the initial Sarlaiyan land invasion along with the various naval skirmishes that occurred in the Endelaus Sea at the same time. [[Naval Phase of the Azure War|The second phase]] (1918 - 1930) saw a stalemate develop on land as large Kalythian naval incursions interdicted Sarlaiyan maritime supply lines and the naval conflict intensify as both sides committed large war fleets to the region. The third phase (1931-1958) is what is often defined as the Endelaus War specifically, when an international military coalition intervened in response to provocations by both original belligerents. 

The Endelaus War was one of the deadliest conflicts in human history, resulting in anywhere between 95 to 115 million fatalities, about half of which were civilians. Allegations of crimes against humanity and [[War crimes committed during the Endelaus War|war crimes]] were made against both sides during the conflict primarily pertaining to massacres, use of torture, [[wikipedia:Ethnic_cleansing|ethnic cleansing]], [[wikipedia:Cultural_genocide|cultural genocide]], employment of [[wikipedia:Chemical_weapon#|chemical weapons]], and widespread maltreatment of [[wikipedia:Prisoner_of_war|prisoners-of-war]]. Following the Kalythian victory, the Empire of Sarlaiya was demilitarized and briefly occupied and tribunals were conducted against suspected war criminals from all sides, overseen by the coalition.

Initial Sarlaiyan territorial gains during the opening years of the war, both on the [[Saint Frodash Islands|disputed islands]] of the Endelaus Sea and on Kalythian home soil, were eventually checked by Kalythian defensive action and more importantly by the [[Operation Frontal Scythe|Kalythian navy's attacks]] on the Sarlaiyan supply ships ferrying soldiers and materiel to the front. This compelled the Sarlaiyans to build up more [[Sarlaiyan Imperial Navy|naval strength]] in the Endelaus Sea and resulted in the focus of the war shifting from the land invasion to the proliferating [[Naval Phase of the Azure War|naval actions at sea]]. This period saw both sides utilize new advancements in naval technology including [[wikipedia:Dreadnought|dreadnought battleships]], early forms of [[wikipedia:Naval_aviation|naval aviation]], [[wikipedia:Sonar|sonar]], and [[wikipedia:Submarine|submarines]]. The campaign culminated in a [[The Big Six|series of large fleet engagements]] which inflicted widespread destruction on and crippled the navies of both sides. Attacks on merchant vessels of neutral nations by either side, both intentional and unintentional, drew a number of countries to create the [[Coalition of the United Front]] to fight against both Sarlaiya and Kalythia. Unable to disrupt Sarlaiyan supply lines and facing more [[Operation Poseidon Kill|amphibious invasions further west]] by the coalition, Kalythian defensive efforts began to falter on all fronts. Sarlaiya suffered [[Operation Epsom Flame|similar invasions]] on its own soil by the coalition and despite renewed success against Kalythia, fought an even more debilitating [[Sarlaiyan Front|campaign]] against the coalition that ended in the [[Treaty of Amaden|Sarlaiyan surrender in 1948]] and its withdrawal from the conflict. Further fighting continued between Kalythia and the coalition until the [[Treaty of Saint Hane|official conclusion of the war in 1958]] after a total of over 53 years since the outbreak of hostilities.

== Nomenclature ==
Debates among historians over the name of the conflict have been ongoing since the end of the war. In Sarlaiyan [[wikipedia:Historiography|historiography]], the Azure War and the Endelaus War are considered one conflict and collectively referred to as the '''War of the Century'''. Kalythian names and classifications are more diverse, with some Kalythian historians defining the war in the same manner as those in Sarlaiya. Other interpretations include the overall conflict being referred to as the Azure War, and the Endelaus War existing as its third phase, or both conflicts falling under the umbrella of the Endelaus War.

Internationally, the latter is the most widely accepted name of the conflict, and the Azure War remains an unfamiliar term to those outside of Kalythia and Sarlaiya.

== Origins ==

=== Kalythian-Sarlaiyan relations ===
Prior to the late 19th century, [[Empire of Sarlaiya|Sarlaiya]] had remained as the dominant [[wikipedia:Regional_power|regional power]] and was both the most populous and geographically largest state that bordered the Endelaus Sea. Although both governments maintained an uneventful history of interactions prior, [[Territorial evolution of Kalythia|Kalythian expansion]] throughout the [[Kalythia (continent)|Kalythian continent]], along with its unprecedented population and economic growth, threatened to upend the balance of power in the region and both nations entered a state of rivalry in the late 1880s. By the 1890s, the [[Order of the Kalythian Star|Kalythian]] economy had surpassed that of Sarlaiya in terms of raw [[wikipedia:Gross_domestic_product|GDP]]. 

Ideological differences also contributed to the breakdown of relations in the same period. For much of its existence since [[Declaratory Statute of King James|its foundation in the 9th century]], the Empire of Sarlaiya was governed by a powerful [[wikipedia:Autocracy|autocracy]] characterized by a [[wikipedia:Cult_of_personality|cult of personality]] and the population's belief in the Sarlaiyan monarch's [[wikipedia:Divine_right_of_kings|divine right to rule]]. Kalythia, which had adopted a [[wikipedia:Republicanism|republican]] [[wikipedia:Representative_democracy|representative democracy]] and a dogmatic culture surrounding the concept of [[wikipedia:Natural_rights_and_legal_rights|natural rights]] upon the conclusion of [[People's Revolution|a revolution in 1822]], was in direct contrast to the Sarlaiyan system. The governments of both nations publicly denounced the other as a backwards and primitive civilization in public addresses, and state-sponsored [[wikipedia:Propaganda|propaganda]] dissemination resulted in citizens [[wikipedia:Xenophobia|antagonizing those from the other country.]] Harassment of the Sarlaiyan and Kalythian diasporas became widespread and further contributed to the [[wikipedia:Casus_belli|casus belli]] for both sides.

=== Battanes Affair ===


Further tensions built up after a Kalythian cargo ship 

== Prelude ==

== Invasion Phase ==

== Naval Phase ==

== Coalition Phase ==
{{DEFAULTSORT:Endelaus_War}}