World War (Iearth)
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| The World War | |||||
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 Clockwise from top left: Drambenburgian troops during the Battle of Selleaux, Avergnon troops advance to the Western Front, Zamastanian troops during the Battle of Spreitenneuve, the sinking of the ZMS Purai, the aftermath of the 1949 bombing of Titania, a Vulkarian soldier comforts his comrade | |||||
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Allied Forces Supported by Non-state factions |
League Powers Supported by Non-state factions | ||||
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Allied losses
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League losses
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10,000,000 civilians killed 16,446,000 - 33,800,000 total killed | |||||
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The World War, also known as the Aurelia War or the Great Hemispheric War, was a global war that lasted from April 12th, 1949 to November 12th, 1954 and saw fighting all across Iearth, formed by two opposing military alliances: the Allied Powers and the League Powers. The war initially started after the Holy Empire of Drambenburg invaded western Avergnon, which prompted Zamastan to rush to its aid. A state of total war emerged after a few months of stalemates in the fighting, directly involving more than 200 million people from 50 countries across the world. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. It included massacres, genocides, strategic bombing, and premeditated death from starvation and disease. It was the deadliest and costliest war in history, costing anywhere from 16.3 to 33.8 million total killed, including 7-10 million civilians.
In April 1949, Drambenburg invaded Avergnon, seizing nearly a third of the country by June. Zamastan joined the war after Drambenburg refused to withdraw under international scrutiny, leading to intensive fighting as Zamastan pushed into northern Drambenburg. The Dominion of the Sanguine Church (DSC), determined to expand its borders and natural resources, joined the war on the side of Drambenburg in June of 1950, invading Avergnon and opening up a second front in the east with the addition of East Chanchajilla. By mid-1950, dozens of nations had joined Zamastan, establishing the Allied forces. In an effort to capture the Vulkarian Pass and seaports on the Cantalle Ocean, DSC invaded Vulkaria from the north in the winter of 1950, while Teresta and Gashuera invaded from the east, conquering Makko Oko, Bentho, and Cirrane in the process, with the bombing of Port Badmun bringing Beatavic into the war. At the 1950 Colteaux Conference, a treaty signed by Drambenburg, the DSC, Rumaztria, Egilanak, Niswibik, Obets, Barangadesh, and Styrae established the "League Powers". In early 1951, Zoygaria had begun invasions on its neighboring nations of Versenia and Kyti in Eastern Nortua, and joined the League Powers. The front on the Zamastan/Drambenburg border became a stalemate in mid-1951, with prolonged trench warfare leading to months without major territorial gains.
In the spring of 1952, Allied forces led a series of campaigns that expelled the DSC from the northern half of Vulkaria, culminating in the recapture of the stretch of coast which cut off the DSC forces' access to the Cantalle Ocean. Key setbacks to the League in 1953, which included a series of DSC defeats on the Eastern Front of Avergnon, a successful breach of Drambenburgian lines on the Zamastanian Front, and the surrender of Rumaztria, cost the League its initiative and forced it into strategic retreat on all fronts. In the spring of 1954, the Allies began a massive invasion of Drambenburg, but in the fall the war stalled as each side attempted to push back, and it once again descended into trench warfare until the Armistice of Ballinsloe was signed on November 19th, 1954, between General Park Carcoali of the Zamastanian Armed Forces and Emperor Geoff III von Wettin of Drambenburg in Ilhaveia, Lutharia. The armistice ended the fighting, while the Treaty of Antirault solidified Drambenburg's surrender.
The World War largely changed the political alignment and social structure of the globe. Simmering tensions following the war erupted into many smaller-scale conflicts such as the Gladysynthian Civil War and the Tariel War in 1972. In 1975, 21 years after the war ended, the Coalition of Crown Albatross was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future global conflicts. Most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery and expansion. Political integration, especially in Euronia, began as an effort to forestall future hostilities, end pre-war enmities and create a common identity.
Chronology
See also: Timeline of the World War (Iearth)
The start of the war in Euronia is typically held to be April 12th, 1949, marking the Drambenburgian invasion of Avergnon. Other suggestions put the start of the war on February 3rd, 1949, when the Drambenburgian Empire put down an insurgency in their northeastern region and annexed the nation of Chaesia. The massive troop movement is believed by many experts to have been strategically manufactured by Emperor Geoff III von Wettin to build up forces on their historical enemy's border.
Pre-war events
Chanchajillan Civil War
Main article: Chanchajillan Civil War
From 1932-1944, a violent civil war engulfed Greater Chanchajilla, with the government backed by Drambenburg and the rebel-republicans backed by Zamastan. The rebels successfully broke away, ultimately forming East Chanchajilla and West Chanchajilla. This was one of the first-known proxy wars in history, seeing different ideological governments backing their like-minded sides in the conflict through supplying and intelligence.
Drambenburg/Avergnon border conflicts
In the mid-to-late 1930s, Drambenburgian forces in their northeastern territory had sporadic border clashes with the Avergnonians. The Drambenburg war doctrines emphasized Drambenburg's expansion north and eastward, and was favored by Emperor von Wettin during this time. With the Drambenburgian defeat at Povaleax in 1939, however, this policy would prove difficult to maintain. Drambenburg and Avergnon eventually signed a Neutrality Pact in January 1940, which each country followed for 9 years until the World War would break out.
Zamastanian invasion of Gladysynthia
Main article: First Danaska War
President Tyler Kordia's policies surrounding taking economic-advantages from raw resources led to the seven-day Danaska War in 1945. Gladysynthia had recently broken apart from its imperial reign and had newly formulated into a Republic, but was faced with the war path from President Kordia and his ambition was to conquer the oil rich territory of the Northern Isle and the Danaska region. As the Premiere of Gladysynthia, Laurence Clarkson, rallied his troops, tensions became dangerously heightened. On August 2nd, Zamastan launched what it claimed were a series of preemptive airstrikes against Gladysynthian airfields. The Gladysynthians were caught by surprise, and nearly the entire Gladysynthian air force was destroyed with few Zamastan losses, giving the Zamastanians air supremacy. Simultaneously, the Zamastanians launched a ground offensive into the city of Danaska and Tariel Heights, which again caught the Gladysynthians by surprise. After some initial resistance, Gladysynthian leader Laurence Clarkson ordered the evacuation of Danaska. Zamastan forces rushed westward in pursuit of the Gladysynthians, inflicted heavy losses, and conquered the Danaska region.
Gladysynthia agreed to a World Assembly joint ceasefire on August 9th. In the aftermath of the war, Zamastan had crippled the Gladysynthian military, having killed over 20,000 troops while only 3,000 of its own were lost. The Zamastan success was the result of a well-prepared and enacted strategy, the unprepared leadership of the Gladysynthian states, and their poor military leadership and strategy. Zamastan seized Danaska and the Tariel Heights from Gladysynthia. The speed and ease of Zamastan's victory would later lead to a dangerous overconfidence within the ranks of the Zamastan Defense Forces (ZDF), and by the time of the World War, much of the nation's military was still active and constantly drilling for conflict.
Insurrections in Northern Drambenburg
In February of 1949, a series of uprisings by rebel forces in northeastern Drambenburg led to Emperor von Wettin sending hundreds of thousands of soldiers to the region to quell the unrest. It is believed by many experts that this was the deciding phase for von Wettin to initiate a troop buildup on Avergnon's border without international condemnation.
Haduastan insurgency
In October of 1948, Rumaztria invaded the country of Haduastan, taking large swaths of the nation under its control and subjugating the population. A large insurgency, however, formed in the wake of the invasion, and Haduastan farmers took up arms against the Rumaztrian forces. They continued resisting the occupiers for the next several years.
War begins
Drambenburgian invasion of Avergnon
On April 12th, over 500,000 troops of the Drambenburgian forces stormed across the Avergnonian border after they staged several false flag border incidents as an excuse to initiate the attack. The invading forces crushed the defending Avergnonian forces. Initially, the campaign saw incredible success due to the methods of the Drambenburgian commanders and a variety of new weaponry, including the DM09 anti-infantry rocket system. On the 15th, Drambenburgians pushed into the city of Selleaux, where for the first time during the invasion, they faced stiff resistance. It took two days to push the Avergnonians out of their tightly held city, but a Avergnonian counter offensive to the west on the 18th halted the Drambenburgian advance for several days. To secure the city and avoid embarrasement at the possible defeat of their forces, the Drambenburgian High Command ordered aerial bombing of Selleaux. The Avergnonian army was soon outflanked and encircled by the Drambenburgians. The Battle of Selleaux resulted in the deaths of over 60,000 troops, as well as several thousand civilians caught in the crossfire.
Zamastanian President Marvin Gaviria, recognizing the reality of Drambenburg's lack of distinction from military and civilian targets, called Emperor von Wettin on April 24th and pleaded for the Drambenburgian armies to cease their invasion. The Emperor refused, and Gaviria ordered the bulk of the Zamastanian military to move to the eastern border with Drambenburg as a precaution as per Congressional Hall's request. By May 7th, Drambenburg had seized a third of Avergnon but had been largely stalled by the now resurgent defending forces, who had for the first time pushed their invaders back at the Battle of Devenstaal. The fighting soon descended into trench warfare, and neither side gained any significant claims of land until June. On June 2nd, a Drambenburgian push through the Avergnon lines threatened the capital of Vessalia, prompting the Avergnonian President, Abelard Montellogne, to ask President Gaviria to join forces and declare war on their enemy.
Zamastan sides with Avergnon
On June 10th, after days of deliberation in Congress, Zamastan declared war on Drambenburg and launched a full-scale assault into the northern region of Drambenburg in two flanks. One prong of the invasion smashed southeast to surround the invading Drambenburgian army and create a double front which would theoretically exhaust their forces. The second flank headed directly south to try and cut off the route from Drambenburg's capital of Lerbin and the front lines. At the Battle of Spreitenneuve, Zamastanian forces routed Drambenburgians headed towards the Avergnonian lines into a strategic retreat. However, the fighting in the interior of Drambenburg also stalled and resulted in miles of trenches being dug, once again descending both fronts of the war into stalled and grizzly, un-moving warfare.
In an attempt to break the stalemate, Zamastan sent naval forces to blockade and try and invade the southwest coast of Drambenburg through Titania Bay. While the blockade was successful, the invasion fleet failed to break through the heavy shore defenses. Drambenburg lacked the strength to challenge the combined Zamastanian and Avergnonian Navy for command of the sea. Instead, Drambenburg naval strategy relied on commerce raiding using capital ships, armed merchant cruisers, submarines and aircraft. Many Drambenburgian warships were already at sea when war was declared, including most of the available U-boats and "pocket battleships" which had sortied into the Toyana Ocean in June. These ships immediately attacked Zamastanian and Avergnonian shipping. The submarine fleet, which was to dominate so much of the Battle of the Toyana Ocean, was small at the beginning of the war; many of the 57 available U-boats were the small and short-range Type IIs, useful primarily for minelaying and operations in Zamastanian and Avergnonian coastal waters. Much of the early Drambenburgian anti-shipping activity involved minelaying by destroyers, aircraft and U-boats off Zamastanian ports. Over 13,000 civilian sailors would be killed at sea during the course of the war.
Overwhelmed and largely trapped by the Zamastanian forces, Drambenburg's air force began a series of rapid and quick strike bombing attacks on October 2nd of 1949. Bomber squadrons began rushing over the border under the cover of night and striking Zamastanian towns, causing thousands of civilian deaths. Night raids progressed in severity as the Zamastanian Air Force struggled to defend against the attacks, until the 1949 bombing of Titania on October 19th resulted in over 9,800 civilian deaths in one night and leading to a shift in Zamastanian policy. In turn, the Zamastanians launched their own attacks, with their planes having longer range due in part to superior engines and the use of aircraft carriers. They were able to strike dozens of major Drambenburgian cities, including the capital of Lerbin.
Around the fall of 1949, Drambenburg began receiving aid from nations who aligned themselves with their imperial ambitions. Styrae began providing weapons and supplies, with Barangadesh doing the same. In November, with Nikifor Osipov of the Slavic Union receiving massive pressure to join the war, he managed to compromise with interventionists in the S.U. by signing the Slavic-Drambenburg Aid Treaty, temporarily satisfying the interventionists and supplying Drambenburg with supplies while embargoing Zamastan, Quetana, and other nations supportive of Avergnon. Additionally, interventionists in the S.U. began planning possible offensives into Gladysynthia.
War in the Cantalle Ocean
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Initially at the onset of the war, shipping vessels were fired on indiscriminately by Drambenburgian warships and submarines. The Albarinean shipping vessel ASVA Gillead Sun was sunk on April 5th, 1949, exactly one week before the Drambenburgian invasion of Avergnon. On March 5th, 1950, Quetana became the first country to join Zamastan and Avergnon by declaring war on Drambenburg following multiple instances of civilian vessels being sunk.
Skirmishes existed during the entirety of the war in the Toyana Ocean, but the first major battle of the oceanic war was fought from April 3rd-5th, 1950, at the Battle of the Strait of Cranes between Ossinia and Zamastan. Three allied aircraft carriers were sunk, including the ZMS Calgary and ZMS Keenan, and the only Quetanan carrier, the QNAV Belsavian [1].
In 1950, Ruskaynian and Emmirian warships joined forces against the DSC navy which had been patrolling the Cantalle Ocean to protect League trade vessels going in between Styrae and Barangadesh to the DSC and Drambenburg. The combined allied navy cut through the technologically inferior DSC navy with ease, and won several decisive battles both on sea and in the air, most notably at the Battle of Ho'olua Sound. In addition, new shallow-water torpedo technology supplied by the Zamastanians led to multiple decisive victories against Drambenburgian and Styrae vessels.
Western Front (Euronia)
Trench warfare (1950-1953)
Staunch resistance by the Drambenburgians meant their defense was nearly impenetrable for the Zamastanians. Long stretches of trenches, dug at the end of 1949, were the epitome of fighting on the front, and ground was rarely gained by either side. On April 7th, 1951, however, Zamastanian forces were able to liberate the city of Ilhaveia, Lutharia. Drambenburgian field commander Tilmann Fieber, who had tactically retreated in order to encircle the Zamastanians, began to lay siege to the city. Two months of brutal fighting ensued, but the Zamastanians held out with the help of Lutharian resistance fighters. On June 14th, the Battle of Ilhaveia ended with Fieber withdrawing his forces to the defensive lines, failing to encircle the Zamastanian forces. 12,000 Zamastanians were killed, making the siege one of their deadliest engagements of the war.
In the fall of 1951, leadership in the allied powers realized that the support the League Powers were receiving from Sateroc and the Slavic Union were critical for the war effort, and to cut off the ports that the DSC controlled in Vulkaria would be a great step to crippling enemy forces. However, Vulkarian troops could not push DSC forces back out of Vulkaria on their own, while Avergnonian and Zamastanian troops were stretched thin across the eastern and western fronts of Avergnon. Zamastan encouraged the other members of the Allies to pool resources under a central command in order to open a front in Vulkaria against the DSC. After some persuasion, an agreement was finally reached, and the Allied Powers reached out to Ruskayn's president, Brian McCready, with an offer to hire mercenaries. Ruskayn had been anticipating such an offer and immediately excepted, shipping out tens of thousands troops within days of the agreement being reached on August 28th, effectively joining the Allies.
Generals Park Carcoali, the head of Zamastanian operations on the front with Drambenburg, met in Auckandia on August 29th with Allied military leaders to plan for a future invasion of Drambenburg and Vulkaria, with the priority being the liberation of Vulkaria and the defeat of Rumaztria and the DSC before tackling the superior Drambenburgian legions.
Eastern Front (Euronia)
DSC invasion into Avergnon & Kaoro (1950)
On June 15, in the early hours of the morning, troops from the Dominion of the Sanguine Church (DSC) broke through Avergnon's eastern border, beginning a war on two fronts in Avergnon. Alongside the Avergnon invasion, DSC troops also swept through Kaoro, securing the capital Kaoro City by the 22nd. Etlia and Tinten's governments aligned with DSC around this time, with both the prospects of a destructive conquest and the religious implications of such an alliance being key motivators for their leadership. To this day it is still unclear as to whether Pontifex Cornelius Dexus and Emperor von Wettin of Drambenburg conspired together, or if the DSC simply took advantage of the situation to try and gain more territory. Whatever the case, within days, Drambenburg and the DSC had officially joined forces and created the League Powers.
Avergnonian troops able to be taken from the west side of the country were hastly brought to the eastern invaders, and thanks to some tactical blunders on the side of the DSC, as well as some brilliant and bold maneuvering on the Avergnonian side, the advance of the invaders was stopped and DSC troops were kept from advancing any farther. In Kaoro, the DSC also faced setbacks from organized resistance groups, mainly the Kaoro Resistance Front (KRF), destroying vital supplies & commencing over 720+ ambushes against DSC forces, including the disastrous 1950 Kaoro City street ambush. The DSC also took the advantages of Kaoro's costal ports, using their strategic location in the Brau Sea to begin launching naval campaigns in the water resulting in the many sinking of civilian and supply ships, and subsequent delays were brought upon Zamastan and the allies.
The growing threat of central & southeast Euronia falling to the empires of Drambenburg and the DSC led multiple nations to pledge support militarily to Zamastan, Quetana, Avergnon, and Kaoro. East Chanchajilla, Caspiaa, Rio Palito, Qolaysia, and Elbresia joined the war on June 17th, establishing the "Allied Forces". The next day, following the disastrous Battle of Everbeke which pushed Avergnon into a retreat, Saint Offeat joined the allies. East Besmenia joined on the 20th, along with Emmiria on the 21st and Vœyetska on the 25th.
On July 7th, Zamastanian forces, alongside East Chanchajillans who had joined the war, navigated Avergnon's northern mountain passes to reach the eastern front and assist their Avergnonian allies. For several months, the eastern front appeared to be a stalemate, serving only to advance the DSC border around 45 miles into Avergnon as well as to funnel some precious Avergnonian troops away from the western front. During the early months of the occupation, Avergnonian citizens in DSC controlled territory were allowed to remain in their homes. However, after the sabotage of several DSC military bases by an Avergnonian resistance, hundreds of thousands of Avergnonian citizens in the occupied area were rounded up and taken back into DSC territory and placed in internment camps. The resulting Aveirs Genocide killed over 800,000 Avergnonian citizens, largely members of the Wacee minority population, and was the event that would eventually be the founding basis for the Coalition of Crown Albatross' Human Right's Council in 1976.
Fall of Vulkaria (1950)
Despite the apparent stalemate on the eastern front of Avergnon, the Dominion of the Sanguine Church was not yet content with the advances they had made. At 3:35 AM, November 17, DSC troops began a brutal, rapid campaign south into the thus far peaceful Vulkaria. Rather than attempting to extend their whole southern border into Vulkaria, DSC forces instead captured only about a 70 mile wide area all the way through Vulkaria simply to be able to reach several key port cities on the Gulf of Ausiana. The morning of the 17th was cold, and extremely foggy in the descent from mountain clearings, and between the cover of the darkness and the fog, the DSC advance was more or less undetectable until it was too late. Phone lines were cut, families were held hostage, any military forces at the border were overwhelmed before word could get through to the greater Vulkarian forces.
By the time the Vulkarian government realized what had happened, the DSC and forces had already pushed about a third of the way down to the ocean. Vulkarian military forces rushed to meet the invading army, but were unable to successfully stop the advance. Within an astounding four weeks, the DSC held a strip of land all the way down through Vulkaria to several key port cities, including Svedalburg and Bredehuizen which they began using to speed up trade in arms, food, and other items with Teresta. Historians have determined that the massive success of this campaign came from the utter speed and element of surprise that the DSC used against Vulkaria. DSC military leaders had apparently learned from their earlier failures in Avergnon and improved on their military strategies before invading Vulkaria. This move was apparently frowned upon by Drambenburg's leadership, but despite the warnings, the DSC went ahead with their invasion plan.
Vulkaria, having been forced into the war, reached out to Zamastan and Avergnon to join the Allies, and their country leaders began tactical meetings trying to decide how best to deal with the League threat. It was first determined that Drambenburg was the greater threat, and the Allies began to double down on the western front against Drambenburg, but as it soon became clear that the Drambenburgian defense was too strong, the Allies began planning to knock out the DSC and liberate Vulkaria.
On December 5th, 1950, representatives of Drambenburg, the DSC, Rumaztria, Egilanak, Niswibik, Obets, Barangadesh, and Styrae met at the Colteaux Conference and signed a treaty, establishing the "League Powers" as an alliance against the Allies.
Liberation of Northern Vulkaria (1952)
Zamastanian, Ruskaynian, Elbresian, Vœyetskan, and contingents of Emmirian forces landed on the northern stretch of Vulkaria early in the morning of April 7, 1952, in Operation Pelican Spanning. The troops split up in two groups, and marched north through Vulkarian territory parallel on both east (to the Zamastanians) and west (Ruskayn and Emmiria) of the territory occupied by the DSC. Vulkarian troops joined them as DSC forces began to prepare for a counter-attack. In the evening of April 16, Allied troops began an incredibly effective campaign against the northern half of DSC-controlled territory in Vulkaria, utilizing Vulkarian knowledge of the area the great extent. Within weeks, the northern DSC troops had either been driven out, or killed in the face of the terrific onslaught of Allied firepower, and the northern half of the strip was back in Vulkarian possession. The southern half of the DSC-controlled territory was cut off from their own country, and in many instances, they were offered terms of surrender, which most promptly refused. The bulk of DSC forces were at this point preoccupied with the battle on the eastern front of Avergnon and were unable to send reinforcements to the troops in Vulkaria. Allied forces took precautions to protect the northern border of Vulkaria, just in case the DSC had a change of heart and decided to aid their trapped men.
Beatavic forces, who over a year earlier had been besieged in air raids in Amstelveen, now joined the allies and liberated the remaining forces from Port Badmun.
Once the border was determined to be fully secure, the Allied forces began closing in on DSC-held territory and slowly but surely began retaking it. The remaining DSC forces are said to have fought with increasing desperation and tenacity, but were simply unable to withstand the Allied forces. Eventually, they were forced back into the strongly fortified Vulkarian port city of Bredehuizen, and began a lengthy siege. DSC forces managed to keep the Allied forces at bay for over three weeks, until they finally were starved out. However, DSC forces still would not surrender. Instead, they piled into whatever boats they had and tried to escape into the Toyana Ocean, where they were easily stopped by the Allied Navy. Yet again, the DSC troops were unwilling to give up, and almost all of them were either killed trying to fight against the Allied ships, or drowned by the purposeful sinking of their own ships. In all, only one squad of their men agreed to surrender. It was later discovered that DSC soldiers were under strict orders from their commanders to never surrender, even if that meant killing themselves, which many of them ended up doing. Zamastanian estimates say that 61,000 Sanguinian troops died in the nearly month-long siege.
It was due to this tragic waste of life that the Allied forces determined to stay their celebration of victory. However the next day celebrations were underway, and Ruskayian and Vulkarian forces were treated as heroes by the beleaguered populace of the previously occupied Bredehuizen. It was during this celebration that the famous photo of a Ruskaynian soldier carrying a little Vulkarian girl on his shoulders was taken. The photo was used at the end of the war as a model to create a bronze statue by commission of the Vulkarian government, which was gifted to Ruskayn as a token of thanks. This statue still stands in front of the Ruskaynian Capitol building in Forgeheim.
DSC defeat and liberation of Central Euronia (1953)
---DSC collapses after allies reach capital--- ---allies liberate avergnon and push Drambenburgian forces back---
Ausiana
Rumaztrian offensive into Vulkaria (1951)
On January 4th, 1951, Rumaztria invaded southern Vulkaria, driving deep into the interior of the country as the bulk of the Vulkarian forces were occupied in defending the northern corridor from DSC forces. Rumaztria had sided with the DSC and Drambenburg in secret during the 1950 Colteaux Conference, and had agreed to divide Vulkaria in half for "living space" with the DSC. Rumaztrian forces were stalled in their advance in March, stopping roughly 100 miles south of Vulkar and Amstelveen, leaving the Canal Routes under Vulkarian and Allied control. A force of approximately 3,000 Beatavician troops stationed in Amstelveen fell under an air raid on January 10th, 1951, resulting in 872 deaths. The Battle of Port Badmun nearly threw the Beatavic government into surrender, as they were also being besieged by the forces of Egilanak. For the next two years, the Vulkarian and Beatavic forces in the Amstelveen corridor endured constant aerial bombardment.
Liberation of Haduastan (1953)
Initially, East Besmenian, Quetanan, Ruskaynian, and Emmirian forces comprised of a bulk of the attacking force against Rumaztrian armies in the south of Vulkaria and Haduastan. In 1948, Rumaztria had blocked the access of the Gulf of Ausiana using their territorial portion of the Jandus River, and launched an invasion into Haduastan, taking a large portion of the country. The Republic of Haduastan's Armed Force switched to guerrilla warfare, damaging the Rumaztrian invading troops, but failing to stop an occupation.
In January 1951, the Haduastani insurgency took back some small portions of the country after cooperating with a Beleroskovian-backed communist movement in the country. The combined communist-resistance force took back the capital city of Lalkot after a month long siege, signaling the coming end of the liberation of the country. In 1953, the Haduastan officially joined the Allied Powers, establishing a key southern front into the World War. The Allied forces combined with Haduastan and Beleroskov forces pushed the Rumaztrian forces back, liberating Haduastan fully on September 12th, 1953 at the Battle of Baybuk.
A Gladysynthian fleet assisted in transportation of Allied forces. However, on July 29th 1953, the Gladysynthian province of Tetrazoa declared war on Saphiria over cultural and economic disputes. Tetrazoa sent troops via air and sea and starts to invade Saphiria on the northern coast. On August 4, the Gladysynthian Civil War began when Saphiria declared war on Tetrazoa. The Federal Government of Gladysynthia in the Capitol District of Mönusÿnthys officially declared war on Tetrazoa, and on August 6, the military was activated and began preparing to defend Saphiria and preserve the union. Premiere of Gladysynthia, Malcolm Kirchner was faced with the aspect of a many-faction-sided war, with the federal government losing control of provinces in the autumn months of the war, leaving Gladysynthian ships and contingents in Ausiana either in disarray or full withdrawals to return to their homeland.
Carubana front (1951-53)
Bentho's government attempted to stay neutral at the outbreak of the World War in 1949, during which time the DSC and Rumaztria had invaded and conquered much of neighboring Vulkaria in order to seize vital port cities and the Vulkarian Pass. Bentho's economy, reliant on international shipping passing through the canal, took a major hit as shipping ceased and neighboring countries joined the League Powers. Bentho's government signed multiple non-hostility treaties with the DSC and Teresta to avoid being drawn into the conflict, but the government was covertly supplying weapons and food to Vulkarian resistance fighters. Bentho successfully remained out of direct conflict for around 8 months, instead becoming a haven for many refugees fleeing fighting in northeastern Ausiana.
Sometime in September 1951, a telegram directed from Bentho to resistance fighters in Vulkaria was intercepted by League Forces in Tilbreg, detailing the covert supply missions. As a result, on October 19th, 1951, Teresta and Gashuera broke their non-aggression treaties with Bentho and invaded through occupied Makko Oko and Cirrane. Bentho's military, small in comparison to the well-equipped and experienced league forces, was decimated in the invasion, and the country's major population centers were quickly overrun. However, many rebel groups sprung up within Bentho to resist the occupation, with vice-president Francisco Cruz Madruga in particular leading several factions. For two years, brutal urban and rural fighting engulfed Bentho as a sizable portion of the population took up arms against Terestan and Gashueran forces. The Battle of Quipata in early 1953 saw the first instance of Bentho's resistance groups freeing one of their major cities from occupying armies.
By December of 1952, the DSC had been pushed out of the northern half of Vulkaria by Allied forces, and Ruzmatrian forces were in retreat on the southern front. In July 1953, allied forces consisting of Emmirian, Albarinean, and Cadairi troops entered Bentho from the freed areas of Vulkaria and began pushing back Terestan forces. They were joined by the Bentho resistance groups, who were vital in the success of allied forces. Gashuera capitulated on August 6th, 1953, leaving Teresta a weakened and vulnerable military. By August 8th, the capital of San Pera was freed, and on August 19th the last Terestan forces retreated over the border into Makko Oko. Following the liberation of Bentho, Marcos Amorim Esteves sent two brigades of men to participate in the Eastern Front of the war in Euronia, where they assisted in the liberation of Avergnon.
Surrender of Rumaztria (1953)
East Besmenian forces led the allied assault into Rumaztria, where on September 18th, they won the decisive Battle of Pachian. Rumaztrian forces began retreating or surrendering in droves to Allied forces, with nearly 90,000 surrendering to the Quetanans alone at the Battle of Frizona. On September 27th, East Besmenian forces led a brutal siege to the Rumaztrian capital of Karlsberg, resulting in Emperor Alex Heinemann and his war cabinet fleeing the city. On October 6th, however, following a prolonged pursuit by allied troops, Heinemann surrendered, effectively knocking Rumaztria out of the war. Their forces in Vulkaria would surrender over the course of the next several weeks, leading to the liberation of Vulkaria.
East Nortua
East Nortua front opens (1951)
On January 27th, 1951, Zoygaria joined the League Powers, and in the days following South Shebat, West Besmenia, and BDDV sided with the Zoygarians and the League. On February 5th, Zoygarian forces crossed into Coaitte and Versenia, launching campaigns to capture the administrative centers of Resnaues and Aassillit respectively. By mid-March, both countries had surrendered to the fast advancing Zoygarian forces. The government of Kyti attempted to negotiate a peace settlement with Zoygaria, but on March 29th they were invaded from the north by South Shebati forces, which quickly overran the country and seized the capital of Rakohovo in the first week of April. North Shebat was also invaded and fell shortly after on April 17th. By May, a united front of League Powers forces had begun a widescale invasion across Eastern Nortua, quickly capturing Grelend, Jefustraz, Irzemai, Taymaite, Lovinali, and Yubonia in their entirity by September 1951. Significant advances also occured in western Ivite, where the capital of Tanin was completely surrounded and laid to siege. The southern regions of East Besmenia also saw significant advances by League forces, with the cities of Sulzburg and Könlenz seeing heavy fighting. More than half of Candatora fell to the advance, with the cities of Prona and Slanwell holding out to siege throughout the war.
In the Olympic Ocean, the Zoygarian fleet was largely confined to Nortua so as not to engage the wider Allied navy which had massed in the relative protection of the Ocean, thanks to the allied-controlled Strait of Quetana. Not wanting to be drawn into a near-guaranteed losing fight against the Zamastanian navy and its partnered fleets, Zoygaria's naval command kept their ships close to the coast of Nortua. For the first stages of the Nortuan front, they faced little resistance from the retreating Nortuan armies, with the Battle of Seyrès Bay in June of 1951 being a major defeat for the Elbresian Navy off the coast of southern Kyti where three of their battleships were sunk.
The advance of the League stalled, however, in December of 1951, as fighting descended into trench warfare. Valiant defenses by East Besmenian and Candatoran forces, who were joined in a united front coming from the east by Elbresian and Saint Offeatean forces, caused the previously undisrupted campaign led by the Zoygarians to get bogged down in often brutal street to street fighting, and lines were defined as the spring of 1952 halted the advances of either side. A major allied breakthrough occurred with the Battle of Antebek, when Elbresian forces forced Zoygarian troops into a retreat in northern Ivite and began the push back into North Shebat.
Zoygaria capitulates (1953)
Allied invasion of Drambenburg (1954)
With all of her major allies knocked out of the war, Emperor Geoff III von Wettin ordered the Drambenburgian forces to prepare for the defense of the homeland. Allied priority had suddenly switched to Drambenburg as the DSC withdrew and the Rumaztrians surrendered, and they prepared for their own major offensive. On February 28th, 1954, Zamastanian forces broke the nearly 3-year long trench stalemate at the Battle of Affolsau near Altenbruck, forcing Drambenburgian forces to fall back several miles and create a new line. The Zamastanians were soon joined in the push by allied forces, mostly consisting of Ruskaynian, East Chanchajillan, Quetanan, Caspiaan, and Elbresian forces. While the allies were successful in driving Drambenburgian forces to within 150 miles of Lerbin, the two sides were once again binded down into further stalemate trench fighting by August 10th, 1954, especially near Sindacale.
Surrender of Drambenburg
The final three months of the war were focused in the central region of Drambenburg as allies unsuccessfully tried to break their defenses around Lerbin. Most of the lower peninsula had been seized in the February-May campaign, and the slow-trudging warfare along the northwest coast of Drambenburg and the push into the interior by allied forces coming from Auraine and recenty-liberated Lutharia had made significant gains. However, Drambenburgian loyalty to Emperor von Wettin in the face of a massive encirclement was something allied command had not anticipated, and the resolve of the Drambenburgian forces and citizens alike to defend their last areas of territory proved difficult to overcome. Locked in trench warfare and with little ability to move forward towards Lerbin, allied bombers began targeting Lerbin and other holdout cities like Sulzbach, Primesberg, Rettenbach, and Boimstorf. Some Drambenburgian generals suggested unorthodox tactics, such as human wave assaults, but Emperor von Wettin was growing increasingly concerned for his people. As civilian losses mounted from the air raids, holdout cities like Den Haag and Latisana faced starvation, and the Drambenburgian air force's near complete destruction preventing any retaliation, von Wettin reluctantly ordered his devout commanders to surrender to the allied forces.
Fighting ended when the Armistice of Ballinsloe was signed on November 19th, 1954, between General Park Carcoali of the Zamastanian Armed Forces and Emperor Geoff III von Wettin of Drambenburg in Ilhaveia, Lutharia. The armistice ended the fighting, while the Treaty of Antirault solidified Drambenburg's surrender. While Drambenburg's pre-war territory had been near completely taken by allied forces, the Treaty of Antirault designated their new territorial integrity which restored some of the allied-controled area to Drambenburg, and allowed them to keep borders along newly-independent nations they had previously controled, like Angouburg, Lutharia, Chaesia, and Blaoria. The Den Haag exclave, the last Drambenburgian holdout of the war, was allowed to remain part of the country.
Aftermath
The conclusion of the World War had widespread and severe impacts across the world. In Drambenburg's unconditional surrender, they ceded much of their northern territory to Avergnon and Zamastan, while also ceding much to newly formed independent nations such as Lutharia, Angouburg, Trevivona, Chaesia, Shoassau, and Blaoria. They also lost all of their overseas territories with the exception of the Achtundachtzig Islands.
While two of the three major powers, Drambenburg and Rumaztria, were allowed to reestablish their sovereignty following the war - with the condition that they had to surrender their pre-war territory back to the nations they conquered, and in the case of Rumaztria losing most of their pre-1870 territory - the DSC was forced into an international tribunal, largely surrounding their barbaric acts during the Aveirs Genocide. The Staventer Trials, held in Staventer, Shoassau, saw more than 200 DSC military and political figures face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Despite the trials, the centralized DSC government itself escaped justice in the international court, thanks to somewhat controversial standings with the papacy of the Catholic church in Montemera, and remained in power into the 21st century. The DSC's territory was dramatically reduced as a result of the war, holding only 0.3% of its pre-war territories.
The global economy suffered heavily from the war, although participating nations were affected differently. Zamastan emerged much richer than any other nation, leading to a baby boom, and by 1956 its gross domestic product per person was much higher than that of any of the other powers, and it dominated the world economy. Recovery in central Euronia began with the mid-1960 currency reform in Drambenburg, and was sped up by the liberalisation of Euronian economic policy that the Baquell Plan (1957–1964) both directly and indirectly caused. The post-1960 Drambenburgian recovery has been called an economic miracle. Other League Power economies, while being small and fragile compared to Drambenburg's anomoly, also experienced an economic boom. The Avergnonian economy rebounded as a result of intense economic investment being made, as Avergnon was the hardest hit nation from the war.
Haduastan and Barangadesh, which had been split during the war due to Rumaztrian invasion and Styraen influence, merged together for several months until a partition agreement was made, officially separating them into two separate nations. In 1955 the state was partitioned into two independent dominions, a Hindu-majority Allied States of Haduastan and a Muslim-majority Republic of Barangadesh, amid large-scale loss of life and an unprecedented migration. The split of the two nations, in addition to remaining tensions between Haduastan and Elastan, contributed to major political divides in central Ausiana that lasted well into the 21st century.
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