Great Eracuran War
The Great Eracuran War (also known as the Second Great War, or the Eracuran War) was a major conflict centered primarily in Western Eracura which spanned from November 1937 to May 1945 and which involved all of the continent's major military powers.
Although major hostilities did not break out until 1940, the beginning of the war is dated to the outbreak of hostilities between Shalum, Aethurheim, and Svinia over a border conflict concerning the province of Maldoria in November 1937. A long contested and heavily resource-rich region, Maldoria's status as part of Shalum was just one component of longstanding enmity between Shalum and its southern neighbours. While Aethurheim desired the province which had historically belonged to it in part, Svinia's concerns over Maldoria possessed a nationalistic element as the region is predominantly Slavic in both ethnic and linguistic composition. The border conflict drew little serious attention from other Eracuran powers, who considered it largely a western continental issue and not substantial enough to garner concern. As the conflict persisted into 1938 after a brief pause over the winter, it began to spread as Aethurheim began conducting operations against other parts of the Aethurian-Shalumite border.
The spread of the conflict from its limited status in Maldoria also resulted in an intensification of the conflict and the rhetoric surrounding it. Aethurian claims soon expanded to demand substantial border territory from Shalum, claiming a historical right to the land. In August 1939, the Aethurian Krigsmarine began unrestricted merchant raiding in an attempt to apply economic pressure to Shalum and force it to concede the demanded territory. The first reported attack by Aethurian submarines against Ossorian merchant shipping near the Arzell Islands occurred in September. Ossoria subsequently summoned the Aethurian ambassador to issue a diplomatic protest, warning them against further attacks. Throughout the rest of the year, Aethurian submarines continued to intermittently attack Ossorian merchant shipping along the Shalumite coast and in the area of the Arzell Islands. Ossoria subsequently demanded tha the unrestricted submarine campaign cease and that Aethurheim pay reparations in compensation; all demands are dismissed by the Aethurians. The Royal Ossorian Navy begins a series of wargames concerning an attack on the Azurlav fleet. The diplomatic row intensifies in February 1939, when continued Aethurian attacks on Ossorian merchant shipping prompt Ossoria to decree that all Ossorian-flagged merchantmen must travel in escorted convoys between the Home Islands and Hemar, Arzell, or through the Northern Passage; simultaneously, an ultimatum is issued that threatens war should a convoy be attacked. War planning by the RON accelerates and Ossoria begins openly mobilizing its armed forces for a conflict.