Komashi War of Succession

Komashi War of Succession
Clockwise from top left: Royal Azanami Air Force Aichi SB-1 taking off from Kako Air Base Royal Yukino Navy Aizawa-class destroyer maneuvering off Nara Royal Azanami Army Type 2 tanks fire on Conservative positions in Mirai Royal Aizawa Army troops marching to the Youmu Frontier
Date 20 April 2020 (2020-04-20) – present Location Komashi Status Ongoing
Belligerents
Yukino Coalition Friently	Conservative Coalition
Commanders and leaders
Yukino Coalition leaders: Ryan Shirakami Chiyomaru Yukino Miki Azanami Nikki Hanabi Akasaka Zaychik See full commanders Friently: Bryan von Friently-Hannover VII Yusuf Sarim	Ibuki Sana Albrecht von Vozlisch III Hamiya Kaslana
Strength
Yukino Coalition: 1,806,000 troops Friently: 100,000 troops	1 million (estimates)
Casualties and losses
Yukino Coalition: 25,500 injured 2,100 killed	115,120 injured 32,106 killed
2.5 million civilians displaced, 750,000 killed, with over 1 million injured.

The Komashi War of Succession (KS: こましの継承戦争, Komashi no keishō sensō, Vozlischsprache: Komashi Erbfolgekrieg, Zaychikian: Komashi Voyna za Nasledstvo), alternatively the Third Komashi Civil War, is an ongoing civil war in Komashi, fought between the Yukino Coalition, led by Ryan Shirakami and Duchess Chiyomaru Yukino, against the Conservative Coalition that is primarily led by Grand Duchess Ibuki Sana of Azura-Nishi, along with foreign support from the Grand Friently Empire.

After the Confederal Kingdom's king Tougo Azanami had signed the Five Points Treaty to end the Northern Usonea War, the country was forced to pay debts that was too far for the country's economy to handle, and the fact that the country lost to foreign powers had implanted discontent among the populace of the 18-nation confederation. With growing discontent, Azanami abdicated, and his prime minister, Hideyoshi Kaslana, was assassinated during the arrest of the monarchy. Invoking the Constitution of Komashi, the 18 monarchies initially decided to elect a new leader.

Things changed on 5 April, the day that had been set for the election, when Ryan Shirakami stepped up to be the succeeding king. Seven nations of the Confederation then seceded, forming the Conservative Coalition, after their initial votes were for Ibuki Sana. Aware of these actions, the remaining 11 nations in the Confederation formed the Yukino Coalition, at the behest of Duchess Chiyomaru. With the Komashi nation torn in two, discontent and general unrest between the two coalitions grew, with open hostilities starting on 20 April when Vozlisch pre-emptively attacked Kisume Fortress in Azanami, and Azura-Nishi attacking Wakamiya and Youmu in Hanabi and Aizawa, respectively.

Aizawa, Azanami, and Hanabi repulsed all the pre-emptive offensives. On the same day, the Duchy of Yukino launched the pre-emptive invasion of Maikaze, a Conservative-aligned state. Yukino troops overran the surprised Maikaze forces across the east bank of the Yukino River and quickly besieged Nara, the state's capital and largest city. The city was nearly all but destroyed, with its destruction being showed across the entire Komashi nation. The state of Maikaze then fell on 28 April to Yukino control. From 20 April to May onward, the Conservatives launched multiple offensives into Yukino-controlled territories to no avail.

On 25 April, the Zaychik government defected to the Yukino Coalition, being the first Conservative state to defect to the Yukino Coalition. This action was followed by the consequential two-front offensives where Zaychik saw itself being attacked from the east and west by its Conservative neighbors, that being Kaslana and Sakura in the battles of Izmail Oblast and Shchorsgrad, respectively. These were thwarted by fierce Zaychik resistance, and in the case of the battle in Izmail Oblast, the Royal Azanami Air Force lent its help.

The war is currently being considered to be the most destructive civil war in the history of Komashi. The war currently has claimed 750,000 innocent civilians, with nearly 40 percent of those from the consequence of the siege of Nara. Komashi humanitarian organizations have criticized both sides, calling the war a "civil war of attrition". The number of displaced civilians from Conservative territories are tallying up to over 2.5 million. The Yukino Coalition are conducting efforts to resettle the affected refugees on the safety of their territories, with extensive successes so far.

Background

Main article: Northern Usonea War

Main article: Five Points Treaty

Postwar effects

The catalyst of the war started after the devastating defeat of Komashi's seven-nation coalition during the Northern Usonean War. Although the Confederal Kingdom's other 11 nations refused to participate, the cost of the war was relegated to all eighteen Komashi nations, causing a large economic downturn as the country was forced to pay indemnities as ordered by the Five Points Treaty. To save his nation's pride and the confederal spirits altogether, King Tougo Azanami was forced to sign on behalf of all eighteen nations, and subsequently was arrested by the occupying Pax Havenica forces, effectively ending his tenure as the king.

The prime minister of Komashi, Hideyoshi Kaslana, who was allegedly also the instigator of the Northern Usonea War, was also arrested by Komashi government officials themselves. As the two were taken away, Kaslana was assassinated by disgruntled Komashi civilians, while Azanami, who had his pride tarnished, was swiftly taken away.

Confederal turmoil

The arrest of Azanami caused turmoil among the eighteen nations, and subsequently the Council called for an election set on 5 April. Initially, all eighteen nations agreed. However, a scheme by the 11 nations who did not partake in the war then took effect on the same day: they had installed Ryan Shirakami as the king without even holding a confederal vote. The seven nations, proclaimed the "Conservatives", were infuriated, and held their own vote, installing Ibuki Sana as the queen of the Confederal Kingdom. The dispute in leadership then escalated, with Ryan and Ibuki both denouncing their credibilities as the monarch.

With hostile intent, Ibuki Sana then issued an ultimatum to Shirakami on the night of 5 April, warning them that the Conservative states will resort to hostile action.

Formation of the belligerents

After Shirakami obtained the ultimatum, he met the leaders of the 11 nations through a secret meeting in Yukino Castle.