Vyvlander Civil War

Vyvlander Civil War
The Battle of Sjyr, the war's deadliest battle
Date 1932-1935 Location Vyvland Result Partition of Vyvland into North and South
Belligerents
File:South vyv flag.png Nationalist Movement Vyvlander Army Supported by: Luziyca	File:Flag vyv.png Kingdom of Vyvland Vyvlander Navy Vyvlander Air Guard Free Vyvlander Army Supported by: File:Koyroempireflag.png Empire of Koyro File:Flag of Nevanmaa.png Nevanmaa File:Flag of Iglesiantis.png Iglesiantis
Commanders and leaders
File:South vyv flag.png Jeusev Jueves	File:Flag vyv.png King Gusdaav III File:Flag vyv.png Mafjas Tupper
Strength
270,000 soldiers 470 tanks 2 ships 49 aircraft (Dec 1933)	100,000 soldiers 52 tanks 17 ships 240 aircraft (Dec 1933)
Casualties and losses
50,000 civilians 160,000 soldiers 2,000 foreign soldiers

The Vyvlander Civil War was a conflict in Vyvland between the Nationalist Movement, a right-wing political party, and the established Kingdom of Vyvland. The Vyvlander Army were aligned with the former, who also received military help from Luziyca until 1934, while the Air Guard and Navy aligned with the monarchy and Parliament of the Kingdom, which was aided by the Empire of Koyro. The war caused the death of 220,000 people, roughly a quarter of whom were civilians, in addition to the flight of an unrecorded amount of Vyvlanders estimated into. It also led to the 48-year-long partition of Vyvland into the states of North and South Vyvland, controlled by the monarchy with its parliament and the Nationalist Movement respectively.

Beginnings

The war started over mounting tensions within Vyvland's Royal Chamber (Parliament) in the mid 1920s. Faced with economic pressures from 1930 onwards, many voters turned away from the established political forces of the Social Democratic Party and Conservative Christian Alliance, and towards the right-wing Nationalist Movement, who had been led by the highly characteristic Jeusev Jueves since 1927. The 1931 election resulted in the Nationalist Movement becoming the joint largest party, with 180 seats in the Royal Chamber. However, public opinion was very divided on the NM, and they were treated with hostility by the police and authorities.

In November 1932, a large Nationalist Movement rally in Lyksdal, following their recent electoral gains, clashed with mounted police, who trampled many of the rallyists before denying medical services from accessing the wounded, causing dozens of deaths. Jueves took it upon himself to declare a "state of national outrage" in an address the following day from his home in Jesel, in which he called for the "immediate mobilisation" of supporters of his party or opponents of the Vyvlander monarchy and establishment; this is usually seen as the beginning of the war.

The War

By the 29th November, the three major armed forces - the Army, Navy and Air Guard - had all declared sides in the war. The latter two, mainly made up of those from the middle class sided with the monarchy, while the Army, traditionally more working class, sided with the NM. While the army was able to make multiple land gains, this meant that it was unable to capture coastal ports due to naval bombardment, causing supply problems.

The Lykejerj in Lyksdal, heavily shelled during the war

During 1932-33, the NM was able to make important gains across Vyvland, including Lyksdal, an industrial powerhouse with the largest population in the country. The Jesel Vrinesdwengeng (Jesel Freedom Force) led by Erman Sanker was able to capture the city of Jesel, then the third-largest in Vyvland, from the control of the Kingdom by April 1933. These gains meant that the NM was able to manufacture weapons and ammunition at an increased rate compared to the monarchists, whose power-bases in Vlud, Strossen and Mafiy were less manufacturing-orientated, reducing their reliance on foreign weapons.

By September 1933, the NM controlled fifty percent of the country's population and thirty-five percent of its area. The dominance of the NM, in addition to the general hostility to it from the Kingdom of Vyvland, prompted Luziyca to intervene in the conflict, sending weapons and moulds to the NM and Army. This gave them the ability to decisively seize the major cities of Fomiy and Lorence, both of which had switched hands numerous times before this. The Battle of Sjyr, although costly for both sides with over 40,000 deaths in total, proved a decisive victory for the NM and Army, who found themselves better equipped than their opponents, contrary to in the past. In December, the Army and NM reached the outskirts of Vlud, which they shelled vigorously. For one week in March 1934, the Vecanbek Palace, seat of the monarchy, was occupied by the NM, during which time multiple works of art and literature were destroyed. The Niklaskatejral in Vlud was also badly damaged.

However, the seven-month-long Siege of Vlud depleted the resources and morale of the NM and Army, while the assistance of Nevanmaa, Ghant, Koyro and Iglesiantis also helped to turn the tables of the war in favour of the monarchy. Luziyca's support in the war also dwindled due to domestic troubles. By November of that year, they had captured all territory within a 30-kilometre radius of Vlud, and the fighting had begun to die down, reaching a stalemate of sorts, despite minor skirmishes. By early the next year, fighting was sparse, although both sides maintained fervent claims over each others' land.

Accords of Nencia

The Accords of Nencia were signed on the 25th February 1935 by King Gusdaav III, Prime Minister Mafjas Tupper and Jueves, in addition to foreign representatives. Signed in the city of the same name, which lies close to the geographic centre of Vyvland, they ordered the partition of Vyvland along an east-west line to the south of Vlud in order to end the war. This gave a slight bias in terms of area and population to the North, although was agreed upon by both parties as a way to stop the conflict. At this time, Magane and Irvadistan were also split off from the Kingdom of Vyvland as part of the Accords, becoming independent states.

Aftermath and legacy

The Civil War is often agreed to be the worst conflict in Vyvland in history, having directly claimed more lives than any other recorded. It wreaked havoc on many border towns, including Nencia and Sjyr, and displaced hundreds of thousands of people in addition to causing hundreds of thousands of deaths. In addition, the brutal regime of Jueves in South Vyvland caused many deaths, and the expulsion of the Swedes from Vyvland. Since the war, the 25th of March has been honoured in Vyvland as Erenjrengsdeg, or Remembrance Day, which involves a minute-long silence at midday. The forget-me-not (Vyvlander: vrogetlosblym, lit. 'forget-less flower') is also worn on the day as an symbol of remembrance.