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The Great Eastern War was a military conflict waged between the Empire of Yakima and The Coalition powers consisting of the Fifth Republic of Sieuxerr, the Belfrasian Empire, the Imperial Republic of Anikatia and the Commonwealth of Arthurista from 1940 to 1948. The culmination of a half-century of radical militarist and pan-oriental nationalist culture in Yakima, the war was initiated with the surprise attack on the Belfrasian fleet in the Protectorate of Kwontyani on December 19th 1940 and concluded with the declaration of an armistice in late 1948; separate treaties negotiated with the Fifth Republic of Sieuxerr, the Belfrasian Empire, the Imperial Republic of Anikatia and the Commonwealth of Arthurista the following year officially concluded the war. The conflict was notable for the widespread implementation of the concept of "total war", under which nations forced the entire national economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities of their nations into the war effort, which effectively erased the distinction between civilian and military resources and allowed for massive loss of civilian life.
By the end of the war, political alignment and social structure of the world were reshaped with national borders were redrawn, independent nations and colonial holdings were restored or created, and major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The Great Eastern War is historically significant in Yakimese history as the culmination of absolutism and militarism which had been dominant themes of government for decades; the adoption of the 1949 Constitution established democracy in Yakima in direct consequence of war experience. The war is ranked as one of the most costly, both in human and economic terms, in world history, and is often cited as heralding the beginnings of revolution and civil war in Anikatia and Koliđất as well as fueling colonial resentments that would play a key part in the coming Cold War.
Background
Yakima began a period of rapid industrialization toward the late-1870s, coinciding with the rise of imperialism throughout the Western world. Fearing for its own independence, and determined to delineate its own sphere of influence against the Western powers, the Yakimese Empire undertook a series of ambitious military reforms and construction programs in the late 19th century, including the building of its first ironclad warship in 1886. Throughout this time period, the political apparatus was subordinated to the direct and absolute rule of the Emperor, though a bicameral national assembly ostensibly held legislative power. An important turning point in Yakima's militarization came in 1893, when an amendment to the Constitution was passed requiring that the Prime Minister be a current or former officer in the military; this, coupled with the prior requirement of the Prime Minister to be a member of the appointed House of Peers, had the effect of giving the military establishment essentially direct control of the country. Through this, the military-industrial complex of the Empire blossomed, and Yakima began work on a navy whose purpose was to contain Belfrasian and other expansions into the Far East and assert Yakima as the main power of the area. Simultaneously to this, the intellectual establishment of the nation took an interest in Darwinism, which led to the promotion of social darwinism and eugenics as schools of government-backed scientific thought. From this arose the idea of the "Yakimese Destiny": that Yakima, as the only industrialised and unconquered Oriental state, had a right and a duty to liberate and lead fellow Oriental states Anikatia and Koliđất and to protect the Far East from aggression by Western powers.
An early example of this came from tensions with the TU, over its colonization of Terinyi. Around this time, Yakima was able to use a diplomatic crisis in Sieuxerrian-controlled Husseinarti to extract legation rights there in 1917; this diplomatic victory emboldened the Yakimese policy of militarized diplomacy, as the concession territory was used to discreetly fund and equip Husseinartian rebel movements from the 1920s onward. Tensions in Ashizwe would lead to an invasion of Terinyi in 1937; in response to this, the government of Belfras levied severe economic sanctions on Yakima, depriving it of one of its largest partners in trade. After several diplomatic attempts to lift the embargo failed, the military establishment began to consider the prospect of war; it was hoped that Belfras, being involved in the Western Civil War at the time and possessed of a large colonial empire to defend, would reach a quick and amicable settlement in the face of another front being opened.