First Great War
The First Great War, often abbreviated as GWI or 1GW, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history and involved countries from almost every continent. It was fought between two coalitions, the first being the Coalition Powers, whose key members included Alanna, Fluvannia, Gagium, Niagara, the Santa Bárbara government, The Furbish Islands, and their respective colonial empires. They faced the Opposition Powers, primarily Inglaterra, the Khakmadoy government, Pätschlàn, and Seocheon, with fighting occurring throughout Abos, Stratea, the Tenific Ocean, and parts of Galia. An estimated XX million soldiers were killed in combat, plus another XX million wounded, while 'XX million civilians died as a result of military action, hunger, and disease.
The first decade of the 20th century was a period of increasing diplomatic tension between the great powers, which culminated with the León Monarchy succession crisis in 1912. A Furbish cargo ship SS Webster Galway was captured 29 March 1913 by Pätschlàn. The Webster Galway was found to have weapons and ammunition bound to the House of Santa Bárbara. Pätschlàn, which backed the House of Khakmadoy, issued a warning to The Furbish Islands, demanding that the country cease intervening in the crisis. The Furbish Islands refused and threatened war if "Furbish vessels in international waters come to harm". The Furbish Islands was supported by Alanna, Fluvannia, Gagium, Greater Niagara, and Hrvada. In turn, Pätschlàn's position was supported by Gryva and Seocheon. One month later another Furbish cargo ship, XXX, was captured. The Furbish ambassador to Pätschlàn Fabien Monteil was summoned to meet with King XXX, but he was then caught having an affair with Queen XXX. After a fistfight between Monteil and XXX which was broken up by XXX's guards, Monteil was thrown in prison. Though he was released and deported to The Furbish Islands the next day, the Furbish government believed it to be a violation of his diplomatic immunity and declared war, and all other countries began to mobilize immediately.
The first action of the war was the 1913 Summer Offensive launched by the Santa Bárbara government against the Khakmadoy government, soon joined by Gagium and Pätschlàn after they mobilized their respective armies. Troops from Fluvannia, Greater Niagara, The Furbish Islands, and Seocheon began to trickle in. After mixed successes, the bloody but inconclusive Battle of the Reka resulted in the beginning of trench warfare on the Stratean Front. At the same time as when the war began in Stratea, Gryva invaded Hrvada and Greater Niagara through neutral Sol'Vin, beginning the Western Abos Front. It too bogged down into trench warfare after a Niagaran-Furbish force defeated Gryva in the Battle of XXX. The Galian and Frigo Fronts developed when Inglaterra invaded Alanna's Galian colonies and the Niagaran Antarctic in attempt to settle longstanding border disputes. At the same time, Naossia joined in the invasion and struck the Alannan colonies from the north, splitting the Alannan and colonial armies. Much like in Stratea and Abos, both sides dug in for a long trench war.
The war was marked with little progress made on all fronts despite extremely costly offensives on enemy trenches. Both sides employed new tactics to bypass the stalemate, such as the use of poison gas and Gryva's use unrestricted submarine warfare. These attempts also resulted in new innovations such as the landcruiser and advances in aviation.
New combined arms tactics in the summer of 1919 resulted in the stalemate being broken in favor of the Coalition. Furthermore, Inglaterra's surrender to Alanna allowed more troops to arrive to the Stratean and western Abos fronts by the autumn and turn the tide of the war there, though an offensive into Gryva was stopped just short of the XXX mountains. This led to the remaining Opposition Powers signing an armistice. The Armistice of 8 August 1919 brought the fighting to a close, while the Boston Peace Conference imposed various settlements on the defeated powers. The effects of the war led to the collapse of the León Monarchy, resulting in conflicts which have continued a century later, while states such as Gryva, Inglaterra, and Seocheon strayed into increasingly undemocratic governments. As a result of this upheaval, the Second Great War would begin just twenty years later.