First Cacertian War of Unification
This article is incomplete because it is pending further input from participants, or it is a work-in-progress by one author. Please comment on this article's talk page to share your input, comments and questions. Note: To contribute to this article, you may need to seek help from the author(s) of this page. |
The First Cacertian War of Unification was fought between the alliance of the Lombardo Matriarchy, the Kingdom of Sarissita, and its allies against the remains of the Padovan Empire in northern Cacerta. The conflict was fought between 18 January 1864 and 20 May 1866 and consisted of two major parts; a land campaign conducted by a coalition led by House Sarissita and a naval campaign managed exclusively by House Davion. Although several other nations in the Cacertian archipelago became concerned by the growing power of the Sarissita-Davion Alliance, they were unwilling to provide support for the Padovan Empire—which had been a historical enemy of a majority of the now independent nations—thereby leaving the Empire isolated.
Despite being outnumbered, House Padova managed to drag the war out over the course of two years by fighting a mobile conflict. Callista Padova, commander of the Empire’s armies, made extensive use of skirmishers and horse-drawn light artillery to draw the land-forces of the alliance into terrain more favorable to the Padovans. The defeat of the Empire’s navy at the Battle of Aspen Strait, however, left Callista isolated on Sarissita without the possibility of supplies and reinforcements and she was forced to surrender with her army on 4 January 1866.
Their largest army defeated, the remaining forces of the Padovan Empire withdrew to Padova where they prepared for an inevitable siege. Taking into consideration the likely high casualty rate involved with an attempted invasion of Kalaris Island, King Victor and Matriarch Cianna attempted to broker a surrender with Empress Madelna which she accepted. The Cesena Accords ended the war on 20 May 1866.