Frankenlisch-Cassadia War
| Frankenlisch-Cassadia War | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of King Malcom's War (1747-49) | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Cassadia | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Pavel II |
 Sir Emmond Laire | ||||||
The Frankenlisch-Cassadia War was a conflict fought in northern Acheron between 1744 and 1749 by the Kingdom of Frankenlisch and the Empire of Cassadia. Fought primarily in the Frankenlischian Mount Zeon Colony, the war became a part of the wider King Malcom's War and ended in 1749 with the Summit of Henbane.
Background
Frankenlischian settlement in north-western Acheron began in 1639 with Sir Henry Barfleur's Lorraine Expedition which established a colony on King Edric's Island. The Lorraine colony failed within a year and disbanded but a fresh expedition was launched under Sir Cecil Walshingham as soon as the colonists returned. Walshingham's Acheron Expedition established a new colony in the area, the first Frankenlischian colony on the Acheronian mainland, named New Gestoria in 1641. In 1649, the puritan Church of Zeon obtained a warrant from Edric III of Frankenlisch to establish a colony in the region. Bolstered by the efforts of Zeonite pilgrims, Frankenlischian colonisation in northern Acheron sped up and, over the course of the following 90 years, Mount Zeon Colony grew exponentially.
Frankenlischian expansion ended in 1735 as settlers reached the Whitetail Mountains and were shocked to discover outposts of the powerful Empire of Cassadia, a large nation on the eastern coast of Acheron. Initial meetings between colonial exploration parties and Cassadian outposts were hostile and, with Saint-John's Skirmish as a particular example, several meetings ended in violence and some settlers and Cassadian soldiers were killed. Reports of these encounters were received with intrigue in Frankenlisch. Admiral Richard de Troumaine was despatched to New Penchester with a squadron of frigates and diplomats were sent to meet with the Cassadians. Once it became clear that the Frankenlischian settlers were not scattered bands but, in fact, an empire in force, the Cassadians became much more receptive and permanent ambassadors were exchanged in 1740. Trade was opened between the two nations but did not particularly flourish as the distance between Cassadia and Frankenlisch was great. Trading over the Whitetail Mountains was more common, with Frankenlischian trapping posts seeing considerable profits from the fur trade.
With the fur trade along the fringes of the Whitetail Mountains flourishing and the increasing colonial population needing greater food production, provisional orders were provided for the establishment of new expansions in Mount Zeon. In 1741 and 1742 respectively, Vandalia and Corland were created (they would not be officially founded until the Organizing Act of 1751), providing Frankenlischian North Acheron with a direct border with the Empire of Cassadia. Settlers, acting against government orders, also ranged beyond the Whitetails, skipping past Cassadian patrols and outposts and traversing mountain passes or sneaking through the Blair Gap. Many of these illegal settlers were captured and returned to Mount Zeon and the colonial authorities agreed to pay a small fine for each settler recovered, many of them went unpunished although the official punishment was hard labour. In March 1743, however, a party of settlers was stopped crossing through the Blair Gap and undisciplined Cassadian militia killed 42 people in the Howarth Massacre. A severe diplomatic row ensued and Admiral de Troumaine returned to Mount Zeon with his squadron as a permanent naval station. A force of 600 regulars and 1,900 provsional troops under Colonel Abraham Faulkner encamped near the Blair Gap and, in Summer of 1743, constructed Fort Wilderness to defend the border with Cassadia and act as a refuge for settlers.
Early Fighting: 1744
Fort Wilderness
Though the crisis following the Howarth Massacre was dealt with diplomatically, tensions remained.