Tea War

Tea War
Part of the Tyrno-Rythenean Wars
Clockwise from top: The Siege of Sundalore is lifted Civilians flee the ongoing Battle of Battimadal Tyrnican frigate Entschlossen fires on Rythenean corvette Ashstone Rythenean infantry advance on a Tyrnican encampment
Date 14 April 1852 – 23 August 1856 (1852-04-14 – 1856-08-23) (4 years, 4 months, 1 week and 2 days) Location Tyrnican and Rythenean Southern Surucia Result Tyrnican victory Treaty of Sundalore Recognition of Tyrnican supremacy in Southern Surucia Intensification of Tyrno-Rythenean enmity Increased Rythenean focus on Kaona Territorial changes Tyrnican annexation of Rythenean territories
Belligerents
Tyrnica	Rythene
Commanders and leaders
Frederick III Oscar Lindauer Eric Krasch	John Montgomery Balduin Hackert
Strength
410,000	340,000
Casualties and losses
27,500	37,700

The Tyrno-Rythenean Tea War, commonly known as the Tea War, was a military conflict fought between the Second Republic of Rythene and the Grand Kingdom of Tyrnica, lasting from 14 April 1852 to 23 August 1856. It was part of the wider series of Tyrno-Rythenean Wars, although it was the first to occur since the abolition of the Rythenean monarchy. The conflict is attributable to the expansion of Tyrnican power in the 19th century, which threatened to overshadow Rythenean interests. Particularly, the Tyrnican monopoly on the distribution of tea to Auressia and Marceaunia stymied Rythenean efforts to enter the market, and prompted Rythene’s aggressive expansion in Southern Surucia.

The immediate cause of war was the Rythenean annexation of the Battimadal Principality, although tensions between the two had been apparent for almost a decade beforehand. Rythenean forces seized Battimadal in March 1852, provoking outrage in Tyrnica; previously, the area had been beholden to none of the powers in Surucia, and the invasion was perceived as an intentional act of hostility towards Tyrnican holdings in the west. Minor skirmishes throughout the remainder of March soon escalated to pitched battles, and a costly Tyrnican defeat — with the death of Lieutenant Mathias von Klostertetten — saw an official declaration of war in April. By unspoken agreement, the war did not extend to the metropoles of Tyrnica or Rythene; neither government wanted a repeat of the Eleven Years’ War, and intended to keep the conflict solely in its colonial theatre. However, Tyrnica still used its control of the Strait of Khovaar to exclude Rythenean vessels from the Galene Sea, forcing them to sail west around Occidental Auressia. Rythene had a much higher concentration of forces already active in Surucia at the outbreak of the war; conversely, the Tyrnican monarchy could rely on its much larger colonial empire to draw in a greater quantity of troops, but would take time to do so.

Rythenean authorities, fearing reprisal, swiftly moved to invade Tyrnican territory. Their aim was and force Vedayen to sue for peace before the Tyrnican auxiliary forces could be marshalled from places like Wallena and Selajung. Under the command of General Balduin Hackert, a sizable Rythenean army marched west along the coastal plain, intending to take Sundalore — the centre of Tyrnican authority in Surucia — and sever their command structure. While Tyrnican and Tyrnican-affiliated forces harried the army along its route, they could not break its supply line, and eventually Sundalore came under siege in February 1853. By the middle of the year, Tyrnican reinforcements began to arrive in large quantities, and had marshalled a force near to or as large as the Rythenean army; although they could not yet assault the Rythenean positions, the Lindauer government coerced its allies into denying further access to Rythenean ships, making its supply of its Surucian forces even more difficult. Eventually, the combined Tyrnican forces broke through the Rythenean lines, and forced them into retreat back up the coast. The period from 1854 to 1856 was marked by a long, protracted series of bloody engagements between both sides. Rythene and Tyrnica saw the worst defeats that either would experience until 1883 and 1913, respectively. By 1856, the Rythenean armies had been exhausted, and were low on supplies after the Tyrnicans completely blockaded their ports in the area in 1855; on 23 August, Hackert surrendered to Tyrnican General Eric Krasch. The terms of the ensuing Treaty of Sundalore saw Rythene surrender its Surucian holdings to Tyrnican hands, and pay a considerable sum in damages caused to Sundalore.

The Tea War had long-lasting effects on Auressian and Surucian diplomacy, and on the wider global order for most of the next century. Locally, Rythenean influence in Southern Surucia was severely limited until the Ratchakao Kingdom fell under its control, having been stripped of its most developed territory in the east. The Treaty of Sundalore cemented Tyrnica's position as the dominant world power, compounding upon the notion of the Tyrnicae Saeculum; however, Tyrnica and Rythene would remain hostile to each other for the remainder of the 19th century, engaging in proxy wars on several occasions and coming into direct conflict again with the Ninety Days' War in 1883. As the name suggests, the Tea War also solidified Tyrnican control over the production and trade of tea, in addition to other products from the region; Tyrnica would use this stranglehold to its advantage on several occasions, restricting exportation to Rythene 1883, 1888, and 1895. Perhaps most significantly, the resulting Rythenean resentment that developed the aftermath of the conflict is considered to be one of the leading causes of the Great War, after which Rythene imposed onto Tyrnica similar terms to the Treaties of Sundalore and Bashaven.