2022 Blaoria War
| 2022 Blaoria War | |||||
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| Part of Chaesian Cession and Blaorian Troubles | |||||
 Clockwise from the top-left: Drambenburgian troops staging for a counter-insurgency operation in Winterstein; Chancellor Giorg Auster-Brautstadt speaks on the military action; a destroyed apartment complex in Winterstein; a Drambenburgian fighter jet takes off; smoke rises over the town of Churheide; Drambenburgian troops arrive in Blaoria | |||||
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 Blaoria | |||||
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The 2022 Blaoria War, also referred to as the 2022 Drambenburgian occupation of Blaoria, is an ongoing military conflict which began on September 3rd, 2022, when Drambenburgian forces crossed the border from Chaesia, which had recently ceded to Drambenburg, into Blaoria after months of tension surrounding contested election results between Prime Minister Alwin Edelstein and pro-Drambenburgian politician Johannes Schnabel.
On July 18th 2022, the results of the Blaorian general election became mired in delays and irregularities. After four recounts, Edelstein was eventually declared the winner on August 17th, but Schnabel opposed the results. Schnabel, who was considered the legitimate victor by the Chancellor of Drambenburg Giorg Auster-Brautstadt, called on his supporters to deny the election results and protest Edelstein's rule. For weeks, massive demonstrations occupied the capital of Winterstein as opposing sides clashed. Edelstein repeatedly refused to seek exile in neighboring Shoassau and denied intervention from WEDA, believing the violence would subside. On September 2nd, 2022, Chaesia ceded to Drambenburg after a referendum passed with the signing of the Treaty of Den Haag by then-Chaesian leader Till Schultze and Kaiser Peter XXI Wettin. With the cession, Drambenburgian forces staged along the border of Blaoria and the following day were endorsed by Schnabel and other pro-Drambenburgian politicians to enter the country, put down the protests, and restore order.
The invasion and occupation of Blaoria was met with mixed reactions within Drambenburg, with former-Chancellor Walde Herzog being an outspoken critic of the military operation. The buildup and expectation of invasion in the months prior were widely condemned internationally, specifically from WEDA leaders like Shoassauan Prime Minister William Eurenne and Quetanan President Emília Medeiros.
Background
At the conclusion of the World War in 1954, the Treaty of Antirault allowed for the creation of several independent breakaway border states from Drambenburg, including Chaesia, Blaoria, Lutharia, Angouburg, and Shoassau.
On July 21st 2022, Giorg Auster-Brautstadt was elected Chancellor of Drambenburg on a campaign of highly nationalistic policy, vowing among other things to reclaim territory lost under the Treaty of Antirault through "diplomatic means". Part of this strategy was openly supporting pro-Drambenburg candidates in neighboring nations. On July 29th, 2022, hotly contested elections in Shoassau, Chaesia, and Blaoria resulted in a significant and foreboding sign for the political alignment of south-central Euronia in all of which the stark contrast of pro-WEDA, pro-Drambenburg, and nationalist candidates clashed in rhetoric. In Shoassau, pro-WEDA Prime Minister Gabriel Leitner lost to strict nationalist William Eurenne (Auster-Brautstadt had endorsed pro-Drambenburgian candidate Mirriam Rillue). In Chaesia, pro-Drambenburgian candidate Till Schultze defeated incumbent President Severin Haugwitz and propelled his New Euronia Party (NEP) into power, giving legitimacy to a referendum proposed to cede Chaesia back to Drambenburg.
In Blaoria, election results were disputed due to many irregularities and recounts. Pro-Drambenburgian candidate Johannes Schnabel, who was endorsed by Giorg Auster-Brautstadt, was trailing slightly behind incumbent Prime Minister Alwin Edelstein. Edelstein, first elected in 2014, was a member of the country's leading Resterbaan Progressive Party (RPP), which were staunchly opposed to Drambenburgian integration. However, Edelstein's opponent Johannes Schnabel of the pro-Drambenburg Behalten, challenged the results, citing inconsistent voter turnout at many sites and a record-low registration. While international observers were not able to cite prominent irregularities, the turnout of the vote appeared to be in low contrast to other years. Schnabel, much like Schultze, advocated for once again joining Drambenburg, and supporters began calling on new-Chancellor Giorg Auster-Brautstadt to use executive power over the "dominions of the Holy Empire to annex Blaoria".
"To call on a foreign power, specifically one with a history of conquest for no goal other than the glories of conquest, to annex us despite public opposition is a dangerous and provocative statement to make," said Prime Minister Edelstein on August 1st. "Every Blaorian must object to Mr. Schnabel's rhetoric and accept the results of today's election, otherwise our democratic process is ruined."
On August 7th, Eurenne welcomed Till Schulze to Staventer and urged him to renegotiate from the cession referendum, but Schultze adamently refused and later instituted the vote to go public. Eurenne, though a critic of WEDA, began to lean into the organization to provide more forces for defensive reassurances, and soon the amount of WEDA troops in Shoassau more than tripled in anticipation for Chaesia's cession to Drambenburg. On August 9th, Auster-Brautstadt toured Chaesia and Blaoria, at the invitation of Schultze and Schnabel but against the objections of Edelstein. Along with the Chancellor, around 190 Drambenburgian military police arrived in Winterstein and patrolled outside voting recount stations, a move which was met with much international scrutiny, and former-Chancellor Walde Herzog condemned it as an unjust interference.
On August 17th, the recounts in Blaoria finalized with Edelstein declared the winner. In the wake of the finalized results, major demonstrations and outbreaks of violence between RPP and Behalten supporters sprang up around the country, mainly in the capital of Winterstein. Schnabel began calling for his supporters to "reject the outcome" and "take the country back". At least 46 people died in the clashes between opposing parties, and hundreds more were injured as Blaorian police and security forces warned against further demonstrations and urged calm in the public. The clashes raised alarm in Shoassau, as the majority of lawmakers on both sides of the spectrum began to speculate that Drambenburg would use these election outcomes to first peacefully annex Chaesia, and then give credibility to an invasion of Blaoria in the name of "restoring democracy".
Eurenne, although holding more conservative and traditionally nationalist values than his predecessor, in an open letter to Chancellor Auster-Brautstadt encouraged the Drambenburgian head of state to "steer away from a use of force to occupy Euronian territories," citing the historic precedent of the World War and the "brutal, violent, and insidious line of conflict that followed." He continued by saying "Euronia, specifically the South-Central Regions, since the World War ended have been a beacon of peace and restoration. I urge the Chancellor to recognize this. Do not throw away the achievements of your nation in the 70 years since on a fantasy of imperialism. Peace, democracy, the pursuit of freedom and the love of country should overcome any ambition of territorial expansion. The needs of your people come before the needs of selfish ambition."
On August 21st, both Shoassau's Eurenne and Zamastan's Atticus Moreau offered Prime Minister Edelstein security assistance from WEDA, to which Edelstein refused. The following day, WEDA Secretary General Damian Levasseur met with Edelstein in Winterstein and personally offered the assistance on behalf of the Olympic Council. Edelstein again refused, later stating publicly that "Blaoria will defend the rights of freedom and political opinions on its own accord. We do not need Drambenburg's military police to fraud our democratic processes, nor WEDA to reinforce our capable abilities." Edelstein's insistance on relying solely on his government's ability to maintain control was at odds with increasing indications of Chancellor Auster-Brautstadt's goal to, in the words of WEDA, conduct a "soft-invasion" of Blaoria, in which the annexation of Chaesia would allow a direct path to topple Edelstein's government and install a puppet administration, likely led by Schnabel.
Meanwhile, President Moreau urged Chancellor Auster-Brautstadt of Drambenburg to step back from rhetoric of expansion, as Chaesia's annexation was seemingly innevitable, and Auster-Brautstadt's tour of Blaoria despite Edelstein's opposition to it marked a significant endorsement of Schnabel. In an address, Moreau stated "we must all respect the political process of Blaoria, and cannot interfere with it in anyway. If Drambenburg commits to a military occupation of Blaoria against the will of its people and in the face of international law, there will be severe consequences."
The same day, Eurenne stated that his beliefs had been changed in a speech to Parliament, saying "Shoassau needs to stick with WEDA, at least for now, as the growing insistence of far-right extremists taking power in our neighboring countries have threatened to derail the integrity of Euronian freedom. The Holy Empire of Drambenburg will not reclaim its territory, Shoassau will not bend to its influence, and we will uphold a free Euronia."
Invasion
The Chaesian referendum passed on August 27th, effective for the following week. On September 2nd, Chaesia officially ceded to Drambenburg with the signing of the Treaty of Den Haag by then-Chaesian leader Till Schultze and Kaiser Peter XXI Wettin. With the cession, Drambenburgian forces who were already present in the country staged along the border of Blaoria. Schnabel, and other pro-Drambenburgian politicians in Blaoria, then quickly endorsed their favor for the Drambenburgian troops to enter their country under the premise of stopping the civil unrest and restoring order. Auster-Brautstadt, von Wettin, and their top officials had the legitimacy they needed to excuse an occupation of Blaoria and remove Edelstein from office, and on September 3rd, 2022, the Chancellor activated two military battalions to cross into Blaoria.
Having been anticipating an invasion for weeks, Blaorian defensive forces along the border put up resistance to Drambenburgian forces invading. The invasion launched out of Vilhofen, and the front was conducted as two separate spearheads, with one headed for the capital of Winterstein and the other targeting the city of Churheide. The main Blaorian airfield in Churheide, home to the majority of the nation's airforce, was hit heavily by missiles and dozens of fighter aircraft and helicopters were destroyed, rendering the defender's air power useless. However, anti-air systems which were hidden strategically throughout Blaoria's mountainsides were less easily targeted, and though the vehicle weaponry of Blaoria was largely destroyed in the opening stage of the invasion, weapon stockpiles and defense systems remained virtually untouched.
When news of the invasion reached the public within minutes of its start, thousands of citizens began fleeing the capital to the Shoassauan and Avergnonian borders. Shoassauan officials closed their border with Drambenburg and began accepting refugees, recording more than 4,380 refugee crossings in the first day of the invasion. The Holy City of Montemera recorded 300 crossings from their Chaesia entrance as some Chaesians left in protest.
By the morning of September 4th, Drambenburgian forces had occupied multiple neighborhoods on the outskirts of Winterstein and began encircling the city. With minimal casualties in relation to the defenders, units were able to establish perimeters in the surrounding villages and began detaining "enemy combatants", including individuals who were protesting the invasion. Meanwhile, fighting was reported between Blaorian government forces and pro-Drambenburg citizens in the center of Winterstein near the Parliament offices. A shell, reportedly fired by pro-Drambenburg fighters, struck a 9-story residential building in Winterstein. The building was partially destroyed, with at least one person killed and 12 wounded. A Drambenburgian rocket was shot down over Winterstein, with its fragments damaging a 5-story residential building, killing one person.
Occupation
Reaction
Blaoria
Drambenburg
International
The international community widely criticized the invasion, with WEDA leading initial condemnations. Shoassauan Prime Minister William Eurenne called it an "afront to international law and the stability of democratic principles," and said that "Chancellor Auster-Brautstadt's gamble to undermine the outcome of a small nation's democratic election will backfire as the world rallies to stand against them." Quetanan President Emília Medeiros said that "Drambenburg would dearly pay for this betrayal of peace," warning that the invasion was very reminiscent of the opening stage of the World War. Emmirian President Akram Sulaiman called Auster-Brautstadt a "war criminal in the making" and ordered the Drambenburgian embassy in Rhaga to close. Chancellor of Albarine Sadie Melhaven said "this was not a surprise to anyone, and yet it is nonetheless shocking to see. Drambenburg's warmongers are towing the line extremely close to a wider conflict."
Outgoing President of Zamastan Atticus Moreau called on Drambenburg to pull back their forces and pursue diplomatic resolutions like the recent ceding of Chaesia, but his comments were met with criticism from both sides of Congressional Hall and leading presidential candidates Sabine Armitage and Leanne Dale, who both condemned Auster-Brautstadt and top Drambenburgian officials.
Prime Minister Elliott Timbrell of Candatora led calls for the Alliance of Nortuan States to unequivocally condemn the invasion, also referencing the World War and calling it "a horrific assault on a democratic nation."