Second Cacertian War of Unification

Second Cacertian War of Unification
Second generation ironclads of the Davion Grand Fleet near the end of the war.
Date 5 August 1866 – 11 December 1868 (2 years, 4 months, 7 days) Location Cacerta Result Apullia-led southern Cacerta victory Treaty of Potenza Fumicino Agreement
Belligerents
Lombardo Matriarchy Kingdom of Cacerta	Commonwealth of Apullia Venetio Governate Duchy of Abruzzo
Commanders and leaders
Cianna Davion Victor Sarissita Callista Padova	Adamo Viareggio Ilene Borgia Clara Marik Agnolo Quintilian
Strength
~500,000	~630,000
Casualties and losses
39,880	132,313

The Second Cacertian War of Unification was the second major war during Cacerta’s unification and was fought for a period of over two years between 5 August 1866 and 11 December 1868 and saw the first instance of rapid mobilization of arms and materiel in Cacerta. Over a million combatants were involved during the course of the conflict and included the mass implementation of new technologies such as ironclad warships, breech-loading artillery, and needle rifles such as the Grantrel M1861. While there was no major exchange of territory, it left a profound effect on the economies of the southern Cacertian states and set the stage for the Third Cacertian War of Unification.

Unlike the previous war, the Second Cacertian War of Unification was a mostly naval conflict that was characterized by its large naval engagements and use of raiding. Large amounts of funds were poured into the development of warships which, until recently, was an industry disproportionally dominated by the Lombardo Matriarchy. The Commonwealth of Apullia had sought assistance from its southern neighbors while observing the war against Padova and believed that, should the Sarissita-Davion alliance succeed, the Commonwealth would likely be the next target. Between November 1865 and July 1866, the southern Cacertian states rapidly ramped up warship production at an astounding scale and had nearly constructed a fleet equal in size to that of House Davion.

A secret meeting between the Commonwealth, Governate, and Duchy took place on 11 July 1866 and it was decided that instead of allowing Lombardo and Sarissita the time to rebuild their forces following the first war, the southern state should prematurely attack to secure their independence. On 5 August 1866, the southern coalition declared war on Lombardo and the Kingdom of Cacerta and staged attacks at naval bases in Paviolo and Scafati. These initial assaults annihilated the front vanguards of the Davion fleet and put the Matriarchy on the backfoot, but it did not knock out the navy completely.

Over the course of the next two years, the southern coalition made several attempts to draw House Davion’s grand fleet into a pitched naval battle, but was unable to do so. This focus on defeating the Davions allowed a combined force of Sarissita and Padova land forces to raid the Commonwealth cities of Virunum, Barcino, and Mutina. The Sack of Potenza, a major industrial center of Apullia, in October 1868 was a major setback that allowed northern Cacerta to request a ceasefire. The Treaty of Potenza was eventually signed on 11 December 1868 and ended hostilities.

Although technically victorious, the war had effectively devastated the Commonwealth and nearly bankrupted the Governate and Duchy. It ultimately did not complete the southern objective of deterring the northern states from invading the south and instead hindered said aim when representatives of the Commonwealth met with Lombardo in December. The Fumicino Agreement formed a secret alliance between the Matriarchy and the Commonwealth which posited that in exchange for economic assistance, House Viareggio and House Borgia would support House Davion in the coming Third Cacertian War of Unification.