Gambit War

Gambit War
Part of the Spanish-Dutch Wars
Date 9 October 2092 – present (84 days) Location Genoise, Spanish, and Dutch colonial space Status Ongoing
Belligerents
Armada of the Tigress	Espana Genoa Netherlands New England
Commanders and leaders
Josefina the Tigress	Carlos IV Queen Frederica Benjamin Berganza Montreal Frederick II La Dauphine Anna Charlotte Annelijn Pastijn Zedekiah Jawak† Rolf Wyder Victoria Grand Duke of Kennebrec
Strength
1,700 starships 12,000+ soldiers	1,905 starships 500,000+ soldiers
Casualties and losses
33 ships destroyed 12,000 killed	8 starships destroyted 400,000 killed

The Gambit War is an ongoing conflict in Genoise and Dutch Colonial Space between the Armada of the Tigress, lead by Josefina of Derita, known as The Tigress, against the forces of the Espana, Netherlands, Genoa and New England. After erupting in October of 2092 the conflict is pitting the forces of Josefina the Tigress against the stellar forces of colonial powers to surpress her plans to liberate Spanish colonies and restore Carlos III of Espana to the throne.

Josefina of Derita is the youngest daughter and penultimate child of Christopher II of Derita and Alara the Terrible of Russlande. She married then Carlo, Prince of Asturias in 2059 during the reign of Carlos II of Espana, and was Queen consort briefly during her husband's reign from 2067 to 2068, which ended upon his overthrow in the aftermath of the Third Spanish-Dutch War. Josefina would go on to attempt to retake the Spanish throne on behalf of her husband from her base of operations in Milan, resulting the civil war between the Carlist and Henrians, lead by Henrique II of Espana, known as The Carnage from 2069 to 2085, which ended with the Treaty of Ghent between Josefina and Antonio I of Espana (Henrique's son). The Treaty of Ghent guranteed Josefina and Carlist forces control over Spanish colonies.

This treaty was ignored four years later during the Montreal Coup of 2089 which overthrew Antonio and placed Josefina's son, Carlos IV on the throne. The coup, conducted by General Benjamin Montreal and Frederica of Riessany resulted in Frederica agreeing to hand over Spanish colonies to the Dutch and Genoise. A deal she made without informing, much less consulting, Josefina. As this new agreement went into effect, Josefina and her loyal allies in the colonies went into hiding and began plotting a return to Earth to undo the agreement. This resulted in a coordinated mutiny in October of 2092 throughout the former Spanish colonies in Genoise space, which for the most part had been left in the hands of the Spanish bureacracy over seen by Genoise supervisors, unlike in Dutch Space. This massive defection resulted in the formation of the massive Armada of the Tigress.

Josefina on October 9 issued an ultimatum to the Genoise, Dutch and Spanish governments, demanding the return of the colonies and abdication of Carlos IV. This ultimatum was given until October 19. The Dutch and Spanish governments both refused to respond to the document. King Frederick II in turn formally rejected the ultimatum, declaring Josefina an insurgent and threat to world peace. The same day, Carlos III, who had been living in Milan in exile, was arrested and the Duchy of Milan seized by the Genoise Crown.

Background

At the end of 2085, Josefina the Tigress and Antonio I of Espana, after years of brutal conflict in The Carnage, came to the peace talk's table in Ghent, mediated by the Princess of Ghent. In the resulting treaty, the Treaty of Ghent, Josefina and Antonio agreed to spilt Espana into the homeland, rulered by Antonio and the Henrians; and the colonial possessions, which were given to the Carlists. Josefina (and nomially her husband) was allowed to maintain possession of the Spanish stellar colonies. However, Antonio remained the King of Espana, whilst Carlos III was regulated to the Grand Duke of Milan.

This peace deal however lead to divsions in the Carlist camp, as Frederica of Riessany, the daughter-in-law of Josefina, became up happy with what she viewed as a failure to restore the Carlist line to the throne. Frederica, noting Carlos III's history of ineffectiveness and unpopularity decided that restoration efforts should be refocused on the next generation in the form of her husband, as Carlos IV. Thus, Frederica and Carlos left the colonial possessions in the hands of Josefina and the Carlist forces, returning to Earth. Once on Earth, Frederica, based in Capri in Genes, prepared to retake Espana's throne for her husband. This however revealed a weakness in Carlos IV, who like his father had little interest and skill in governance or military strategy, instead depending entirely on Frederica's great skill in these areas.

In 2089, in the midst of the Nukastan Civil War, Antonio I intervened in an attempt to set up his brother-in-law as a puppet monarch. However, with the Queens of Kegara and the Aogaians launching a large counterinvasion crushed the Spanish forces in the conflict. This resulted in the collaspe of the expenditary army, which in the wake of the Carnage, was the last major limb of the Spanish Armed Forces at the time. This compounded anti-Henrian sentiment in Espana, and Antonio's popularity plummeted.

La Glorisa

General Benjamín Berganza Montreal was the commander of the so called Last Army in the Nukastan Civil War, and in March ordered a retreat into the Lakelands region in the Spanish border regions. Montreal did so against the direct orders of Antonio. This move endeared Montreal in the eyes of the public, as they saw Antonio's disregard to the wants of the people in the face of his plans showed his disconnect with the public. Montreal and the Last Army thus marched on Aranjeuz. It quickly became clear the king was doomed. Across Espana anti-Antonio movements sprung up and many feared a violent coup. However, the movement was made peaceful when Cinyroite Special Forces arrived in the capital, rescuing the royal family, whisking them off into exile. The prime minister,Jose Juan Velazquez known as the King's Guard Dog, abandoned, resigned as Montreal took the capital.

Montreal, as the highest ranking officer in the capital, and riding on his widespread popularity, was selected to serve as acting Prime Minister. Montreal quickly went to work to forming a new government. It has since be believed that had he been left to his own devices, Montreal would have likely seen Espana become a republic. However this was prevented when, just hours after Antonio had fled the country, Frederica, who had been watching event closely, seized the opportunity and arrived in the capital. Frederica had with her a flotilla of starships, and easily outgunned Montreal. For the sake of peace, Montreal and Frederica made a deal, agreeing to form a new government together, with Carlos IV as king and Frederica as Queen.

In the south, where Carlists had always been strongest, celebrations were launched in the streets of Cadiz and Malaga. Meanwhile the remnants of the Henrians in Espana attempted to rise up in protest against Frederica in Navarre and in the few stellar colones left in the hands pf the Henrians. Frederica and Montreal quickly turned Espana into a efficent socialist police state. This newly efficent government quickly crushed these rebellions. Frederica however had to worry about response of the Dutch Empire. Wishing to avoid war with the Dutch over the throne, as well as knowning the danger Henrian supporters in the colonies, as well as the mounting debts caused by Antonio's reign and her use of mercenaries, the new Queen decided to cut her losses and handed all the colonies over to the Dutch and Genoise empires in return for recognition and funds.

This peaceful transition of power has become known as the Glorious Revolution or the La Glorisa. Throughout the entirety of Las Glorisa however, Josefina of Derita in Carlist controlled colonies was left uninformed and unconsulted. Despite her husband being exceedingly unpopular, that was not true for Josefina herself. Known as the Tigress for her vicious skill and victories throughout the Carnage, she maintained a high level of popularity in the Carlist camps, and gain respect from foreign onlookers. When Josefina was finally informed of these series of events that resulted in the loss of all her gains throughout the Carnage. Josefina, as the Genoise move in to occupy their knew holdings, sent a message to Frederica, warninh her of her displeasure and vowed to one day return to Earth. With this, Josefina and her most loyal supporters went into hiding for the next three years.

The October Mutiny

In the years following Josefina's going into hiding, her radio silence and hidden actions resulted in her falling away from the public mind, and was seen by Genoise officials as a non-threat. Despite this in October od 2092, Josefina and her supporters launched their first attack via secret messaging. Across the former Spanish Colonies, particularly in Genoise space, officers and former military personnel mutined against their superiors, seizing control of over 1,700 starships and 18 star systems. This mutiny, completed on October 9 marked the beginning of the Gambit War.

Josefina's Ultimatum

Following the success of the October Mutiny throughout the former Spanish colonies, Josefina issued an ultimatium to the Dutch and the Gênoise governments, as well to her son and daughter-in-law in Aranjeuz, King Carlos IV and Queen Frederica, demanding from the former two the return of all Spanish colonies to Espana, and from the latter two, their abdication from the throne of Espana. If neither demand is met, then as the Tigress put it, she would “burn every star system in my path from here to earth and enforce my demands myself”.

King Frederick II, Queen Frederica of Espana and the Prince of Orange met together for a conference to discuss the ultimatium in Shewa. The Shewa conference lead to an agreement of the three leaders with the task of "destroying the rebellion lead by Josefina of Derita." This resulted in the Spanish and Dutch governments ignoring the ultimatum entirely, with Dutch sector fleets preparing to defend its colonial holdings. King Frederick II publicly denounced and rejected the ultamium. The Genoise king declared the former Queen as an insurgent and an interstellar pirate, placing a bounty of 100 billion dérrals on her head if she was captured alive and brought to Gênes.

Frederick II also promised amnesty to those who defected from the side of the Tigress. He promised rewards to those who fought against her. Despite this however, little to no members of the Tigress' Armada sided with the Genoise. At the same time, Carlos III, who had been living in the Grand Duchy of Milan, was arrested by Genoise police, and put in a maximum security prison. The grand duchy and its assets were seized by the Genoise Crown. This marked the beginning of active armed confrontation of the war.

Opposing Forces

Armada of the Tigress

The Armada of the Tigress, was comprised of the Nuevoestelar Forces, the Milanese built fleet that had been constructed for Josefina during the Carnage by Genoise manufactorers, which had been retaken following mass mutiny as well as the Carlist Remnant, a collection of colonial fighters, many who had been stationed in the various Spanish garrisons before the planets were handed over to who the Dutch and Genoise. Josefina was aided by incredibly compontent and experienced leaders. The Carlist Remnant forces especially were intensely loyal, with extremists comprising their make up, making them more than willing to engage in guerilla warfare, often employing hit and run attacks and sabotage on colonial worlds.