Six-Day War

Six-Day War
Part of the Ruthish conflict
Clockwise from top left: A Waldish G-3 taking off in East Ruthen for Operation Sound Justice The Strecknitz suburb of Sagard am Möhne during the early hours of 20 July after a West Ruthish bombing UCMAR tanks in the liberated town of Haferfeld UC peacekeepers removing bodies after an airstrike in Sagard am Möhne West Ruthish soldiers laying mines in East Ruthen
Date 20 July 1999 – 26 July 1999 (de facto) (6 days) 20 July 1999 – present (de jure) (25 years, 4 months and 2 days) Location Ruthen, Swarin Sea, Hunsrück Valley Result Inconclusive Territorial changes Ruthish Demilitarized Zone established Both East and West Ruthen evacuate all civilians from within 3 miles of the inner Ruthish border
Belligerents
East Ruthen	West Ruthen
UCMAR Dahemia Falland Free States Waldrich Supported by: Nadauro	Supported by: Hyacinthe (alleged)
Commanders and leaders
Niels Steinitz Jannick Kohnstamm Vinzenz Fischinger Thorsten Moldenhauer Paulus Pollmächer Jakob von Meyer	Gabriel Wehner Heiner Denker Sören Brandis Eduard Salzer Roland Hauffe † Otto Sternhell
Strength
142,376 UCMAR contingent X X X 260 Together: 260	608,422
Casualties and losses
325 soldiers killed 1064 civilians killed 56 missing 3 soldiers killed	413 soldiers killed 34 civilians killed 2 missing
Additional 8 foreign civilians killed

The Six-Day War (Ruthish: Sechstagekrieg), also known as the July Crisis (Ruthish: Juli-Krise), was a conflict fought between East Ruthen and West Ruthen that began on 20 July 1999 when West Ruthen invaded East Ruthen and ended on 26 July with the signing of the Ruthish Armistice Agreement and the withdrawal of West Ruthish soldiers from East Ruthen. The war involved combatants from Ruthen as well as x nations as part of the United Congress Monitoring Authority for Ruthen (UCMAR) which initially supported East Ruthen but later shifted towards monitoring the Ruthish Demilitarised Zone. It was the first war fought between two nations in Calesia since the end of the Great War and is generally regarded as the closest the world came to descending into full-scale nuclear war.

Following the Great War, Ruthen had been divided into two separate nations in 1944 as a result of the Ruthish Crisis. The legitimate and internationally recognised government of Ruthen emerged as the People's Republic of Ruthen whilst the Waldish-backed Republic of Ruthen struggled to secure political or diplomatic legitimacy following its independence. As a result of the controversial nature of the division of Ruthen, neither state was permitted to join the United Congress until a reunified Ruthish state could be established. Inter-Ruthish relations fluctuated throughout the 20th century, with relative diplomatic lows such as the Hunsrück crisis in 1979 and periods of positive relations such as the Grenzpolitik period between 1980 and 1983. Relations between each state had deteriorated as a result of the East's adoption of the Hauswald Doctrine and the hijacking of Luftverkehr Flight 86 in 1986, which resulted in the aircraft crashing over the Swarin Sea after running out of fuel and killing all 87 people on board. By the summer of 1999, relations were at their worst period since the division of Ruthen, largely as a result of East Ruthen's planned military exercise Heimverteidiger 99 which was scheduled to occur in September and had prompted fears within West Ruthen's government of conflict escalation by East Ruthen and its allies.

West Ruthen launched its surprise invasion at 4AM CCST with an estimated 15,000 West Ruthish soldiers having crossed the Hunsrück river by sunrise. Simultaneously, the West Ruthish Air Force launched air raids and missile attacks on targets in East Ruthen, including Sagard am Möhne International Airport and the Ramberger-Gebäude which housed the East Ruthish Ministry of Defence. Initial air attacks and military advances were left unchallenged as communications between East Ruthen's government and its military ceased for several hours whilst members of the East Ruthish government were avoiding assassination attempts by West Ruthish special forces. The war was quickly condemned in a near unanimous vote at an emergency summit of the United Congress Security Council; within hours of the invasion commencing and with the prospect of East Ruthen collapsing imminent, the UCSC adopted Resolution 1233 which created UCMAR and authorised a multinational intervention force in East Ruthen.

The West Ruthish advance stalled on 21 July unexpectedly after an unforeseen storm developed over Ruthen and failed to dissipate for several days, which allowed the East Ruthish military to regroup and prevent further attacks with the aid of UCMAR forces. After having advanced approximately 70 kilometres into East Ruthen, the West Ruthish military faced supply issues after they lost air superiority to the East and UCMAR forces on 22 July and were pushed back in some areas. UCMAR subsequently initiated a campaign of aerial bombardment on West Ruthish military and logistic targets (Operation Sound Justice). After a stalemate had developed on 23 July, the UC announced the creation of a no-fly zone over the entirety of East and West Ruthen which crippled the West Ruthish air force; additionally, an East Ruthish naval blockade, which had began after the start of the invasion, caused further supply issues and fears of an amphibious landing in West Ruthen.

Ceasefire talks began on 25 July in Dahemia between Ruthish military figures and officials from UCMAR and several other nations. A formal ceasefire was formally signed on 26 July and West Ruthen finalised its withdrawal from East Ruthen by 30 July. The Ruthish Demilitarised Zone (DMZ/EMZ) was formally established on 4 August 1999 along the inner Ruthish border, and a strip of land measuring at minimum 3 miles from the border on each side was to be fully depopulated and no civilians or military personnel permitted to return. A further 10 miles from this would be under the oversight of UCMAR and require permits to enter but would not be depopulated. Additionally, the airspace over the DMZ was to be permanently closed and the maritime waters of Ruthen were also to be affected by the DMZ.

The war was notable for its television coverage by international mass media and helped pioneer live TV coverage of similar events. The media coverage of the war became the most watched television event in history as fears of a nuclear war developed during the course of the conflict. Moreover, it was also one of the first major events reported on by news organisations through the internet, adding to its impact on pop culture. The war also helped East Ruthen secure diplomatic legitimacy as it was presented as the victim of an aggressive war, which led to its recognition by several nations and for both Ruthish states to be admitted to the UC in 2001, becoming the most recent states to join the organisation.

Names

The war is commonly referred to as the Six-Day War, the War in Ruthen, July Crisis, the Ruthish War, or the Second Ruthish Crisis. While the war was ongoing, it was commonly referred to as either the Ruthish War or the Crisis in Ruthen by officials and the international media. In East Ruthen it was contemporarily referred to as The Emergency (Ruthish: Der Notfall) which it was referred to by the East Ruthish government and media at the time to highlight the severity of the situation. In the early hours of 20 July when reports first broke of border crossings, East Ruthish multinational news company IKN referred to it as the July Hunsrück crossing in reference to earlier border incidents on the river which had occured earlier in the year. IKN continued to refer to the war as a river crossing and dismissed reports of a full-scale war until the broadcaster's headquarters was shaken by bombings in other neighbourhoods of Sagard am Möhne and air raid sirens sounded.

At various stages, the war was called the Second Great War, particularly in Ruthen, owing to the large number of nations which participated as part of the united UCMAR involvement. The term was considered alarmist by various sections of society and its use was deemed controversial. Alternatively in West Ruthen, the war was called the Preventative Action (Vorbeugende Maßnahme) or more commonly in civil society, the War in the East (Der Krieg im Osten). After the commencement of Operation Sound Justice, the West Ruthish government referred to the war as the Battle for Ruthen (Kampf um Ruthen) although, like other official names for the war, it failed to be commonly used by the West Ruthish public who simply referred referred to the operation as "the Bombings".

Background

Hauswald doctrine

Madlene Hauswald, East Ruthish Foreign Minister (1980–2003) and creator of the Hauswald Doctrine

The aircraft involved with the Luftverkehr Flight 86 hijacking

Chronology of the war

21 July

School children evacuated from Rosche in West Ruthen as part of widespread urban evacuations

War crimes

Air raids over civilian areas

Sagard am Möhne International Airport Terminal 2 after being struck by a West Ruthish missile on 20 July 1999

Ruthish syndrome

• Definitely not Gulf War syndrome