Prairie War

Prairie War
Part of the Elian Border Wars and Diluvian period
From top to bottom, left to right: Free States Air Force fighter jets flying over burning Devorite oil wells ?
Date 10 Amate 1982 ― 20 Dolichon 1990 (8 years, 8 months and 5 days) Location Elian Prairie, Elia Borealis Result Coalition victory
Belligerents
Coalition forces: Wetumka Kahneska Devoran Free States (1985–1990) Supported by: Josephinia (1983–1984)	Dominionist Devoran Supported by: Nadauro (1982) Template:Country data Siskiyou (1982–1985) Josephinia (1982–1983) Free States (1982–1985, alleged)	Devoran guerrillas Indigenous-Nationalist ? (1987–1990)  ?  ? Supported by: Template:Country data Equatoria (1986–1990) Hyacinthe (1986–1990)	Boreanist and Ruisearite paramilitaries Lord Resistance Army (1986–1990) Knights of the Prairie Borean Republican Army

The Prairie War, also known as the Great Plains War, the Elian War and in Devoran as the First Devorite Civil War from 1984 onwards, was a major conflict that occurred in the Great Plains region of Elia Borealis from 10 Amate 1982 to 20 Dolichon 1990. The war is largely seen as a final climax and drastic escalation of the broader Elian Border Wars, which raged on following the Kahneskan Revolution in 1910.

Devoran's economic downturn as a result of the 1970s oil crisis resulted in broad societal instability. In particular, Devoran's thinly populated northwest saw a sharp increase in rural communal violence, assassinations, border raids and terror bombings by Devorite Boreanist-Ruisearite paramilitary proxies, most notably the Kahneskan Minutemen and the Oathkeepers. Without the knowledge of Devorite authorities, cells of Wetumkan emigre militants commenced an invasion of Wetumka on 10 Amate 1982, known as Operation Bald Eagle, successfully seizing several towns and settlements within the Wetumkan Prairie and committing numerous atrocities against local inhabitants. Taking this as an act of war, Wetumka and Kahneska issued a joint declaration of war the following week, and quickly amassed a counter-invasion force into Devoran. Evoking Article 9 of the Fairview Accord, Josephinia and Siskiyou subsequently came to Devoran's side.

Coalition forces made quick advances in western Josephinia, while along major states such as Devoran and Siskiyou, fighting was far more sluggish. Following the Battle of Springfield, which saw the city's capture by Kahneskan forces in early 1983, the Josephinian military government under Winston Derrier proclaimed the Act of Settlement, conceding to majority rule and exiting from direct involvement in the war. Siskiyou's surrender in early 1984 coincided with substantial advances made by the Coalition into Devoran. Mounting fears of a rapid coalition advance led to the use of chemical weapons during the Battle of Boise and Caddo Falls, leading to widespread international condemnation and a re-orientation of the Free States towards recommitting to the Anti-Segregationist Line. With the lose of foreign revenue streams and deteriorating defences, the Devorite Congress attempted a vote on initiating peace talks against the wishes of President Callum MacDonald, which was largely prevented by the botched 1984 coup d'état under General Arran McKinley. Devorite defenses splintering as a result of infighting, both Gold Springs and Port Douglas fell to Coalition forces. Subsequently, Will Smith was installed as the president of a caretaker government, becoming a signatory of the Elian Peace Accord in early 1985 and officially ending the System of Preference in Devoran.

McKinley's forces continued fighting, increasingly enlisting the help of radical militant groups to harass coalition supply lines and engage in terrorism. Increased financial independence from McKinley's forces through the capture of Devorite mines and oil fields allowed Boreanist-Dominionist groups to coalesce into the vastly successful Lord's Resistance Army by 1986. Gaining access to the Devorite military's old stockpile of chemical and radiological weapons, the LRA made indiscriminate use of WMDs both on he battlefield and in overseas terror campaigns which drew international condemnation; Equatoria supported indigenous-led Delarueist brigades, and the Free States began separate air campaigns against the LRA from 1987, aggressively targeting weapon depots, bases and enemy positions.

Communist uprisings in the LRA-controlled territory by the Indigenous-Nationalist ? led to a wave of war crimes, such as massacres, mass wartime rape, and ethnic cleansing against indigenous, coloured and Hylasian populations. The employed method of death marches have been termed the River of Tears and was the first wartime event to be classified as genocidal in character by scholars since ?. Additionally, the San Janas and Leduc car bombings saw up to 17,000 and 30,000 direct and indirect people civilian deaths through radiation poisoning-related causes, as well as the evacuation of hundreds of thousands more from the cities and surrounding towns. Coalition forces managed to defeat the LRA by 1988, with McKinley's forces shortly being forced into a peace settlement in 1990.

The Prairie War was more distinguished from other Diluvian conflicts for being the first and only instance of asymmetric nuclear warfare in the form of conventional dirty bombs, often to slow coalition forces through area denial as part of a scorched earth policy, and to sow mass panic in terror bombing campaigns. Over 400,000 deaths were attributed to the nuclear terror campaigns, with 42.7%, X% and X% of Devorite, Wetumkan and Kahneskan land still irradiated. With over 4.7 million deaths, the Prairie War is commonly considered to be the deadliest war in Borean history.

Background

The main factor that led to the war was the lingering anxiety and activity of elements of the Wetumkan military which went into partially self-imposed exile following the 1950 Carnival Revolution. The Wetumkan emigre community was largely welcomed into the Ruisearite-dominated Dominionist Devorite state, and the exit of Wetumka from the Fairview Accords caused a substantial internal crisis among the other Elian segregationist states. Devoran's mining and petroleum industry circumvented global sanctions through bilateral barter arrangements, and it soon became the linchpin of the bloc, using its extensive export surpluses to subsidize and stabilize Josephinia and Siskiyou. Under Devorite hegemony, the bloc took a more militarized and radical turn, with Devorite propping up new and more compliant junta governments.

The 1970s Adanali oil crisis brought about a rapid rise in energy prices and a marked shift in attitude from leading powers within the Serial World towards Devoran. While still largely compliant with United Congress-mandated sanctions, the Free States began loosening restrictions on energy imports in a bid to sooth domestic demand pressure and re-export additional supplies to Calesia.

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