World War (Iearth)
| The World War | |||||
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 Drambenburgian troops during the Battle of Selleaux (1950) | |||||
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| Belligerents | |||||
 Drambenburg | |||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||
 Marvin Gaviria Abelard Montellogne Duct Kreft Brian McCready |
Geoff III von Wettin Friedrich Wilhelm Julich-Henegbach Rudolf Polzl Leopold Schaber | ||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||
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The World War, also known as the Aurelia War or the Great Euronia War, was a global war that lasted from April 12th, 1949 to November 12th, 1954 and saw fighting all across Iearth, formed by two opposing military alliances: the Allied Powers and the League Powers. The war initially started after the Holy Empire of Drambenburg invaded western Avergnon, which prompted Zamastan to rush to its aid. A state of total war emerged after a few months of stalemates in the fighting, directly involving more than 100 million people from 8 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. It included massacres, genocides, strategic bombing, and premeditated death from starvation and disease.
In April of 1949, Drambenburg invaded Avergnon, seizing nearly a third of the country by June. Zamastan joined the war after Drambenburg refused to withdraw, leading to intensive fighting as Zamastan pushed into northern Drambenburg. The Dominion of the Sanguine Church (DSC), determined to expand its borders and natural resources, joined the war on the side of Drambenburg in June of 1950, invading Avergnon and opening up a second front in the east. Sanguine invaded Vulkaria in the winter of 1950 in order to capture seaports on the Toyana Ocean, leading to Vulkaria's entry in the war on the side of Avergnon and Zamastan. The front on the Zamastan/Drambenburg border became a stalemate in 1951, with prolonged trench warfare leading to months without major territorial gains. In the spring of 1952, Zamastanian and Vulkarian forces led a series of campaigns that expelled the DSC from the northern half of Vulkaria, culminating in the recapture of the stretch of coast which cut off Sanguine forces' access to the Toyana Ocean. Key setbacks in 1953, which included a series of Sanguine defeats on the Eastern Front of Avergnon, a successful breach of Drambenburgian lines on the Zamastanian Front, and Allied victories in the Toyana Ocean, cost the League its initiative and forced it into strategic retreat on all fronts. Eventually, the war stalled as each side attempted to push back, and it once again descended into trench warfare until an armistice was signed on November 19th, 1954.
The World War largely changed the political alignment and social structure of the globe. Simmering tensions following the war erupted into many smaller-scale conflicts such as the Gladysynthian Civil War and the Tariel War in 1972. In 1975, 21 years after the war ended, the Coalition of Crown Albatross was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future global conflicts. Most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery and expansion. Political integration, especially in Euronia, began as an effort to forestall future hostilities, end pre-war enmities and create a common identity.
Chronology
See also: Timeline of the World War (Iearth)
The start of the war in Euronia is typically held to be April 12th, 1949, marking the Drambenburgian invasion of Avergnon. Other suggestions put the start of the war on February 3rd, 1949, when the Drambenburgian Empire put down an insurgency in their northeastern region. The massive troop movement is believed by many experts to have been strategically manufactured by Emperor Geoff III von Wettin to build up forces on their historical enemy's border.