Great Turbulence

Great Turbulence
Clockwise from top: Jau troops being inspected in 1936, Qyredine bombers over Tinyeuhng in an air raid in 1938, Tangkuoan troops in the city of Zhumen in 1948, a Jau aircraft carrier burns during the Battle of Wuhnlouh in 1947, Qyredine tank in Tshiongmen in 1950, Yunlinese machine-gun crew in 1937.
Date 1932–1955 Location East Catai Result Treaty of Danlok Defeat of the Qyredine coalition Beginning of cold war in East Catai
Belligerents
Template:Country data Wahngjau Tangkuo (until 1953) Tangkuo People's Republic (from 1953) Supported by: Template:Country data Aeian Socialist Union	Qyred
Commanders and leaders
	Faho Emperor Shiebin Emperor
Casualties and losses
?? million civilians dead total

The Great Turbulence (Yen characters: 戈舞時期, Jau: gwōmóuh sìhkèih), also literally translated as the Dance of Dagger-axes, was a series of wars in East Catai that spanned from 1932 to 1955, which took place within the framework of a larger conflict between two main blocs of powers in the region. The Turbulence is considered to have begun with the ??? and ended with the Treaty of Danlok, where Qyred and its remaining allies acknowledged their defeat and conceded their political positions.

The Turbulence was the result of prolonged contention of the interests of two axes in East Catai, one centred around Qyred, the other around Wahngjau and ???.

Background

Rivalry of Yidaoan powers

The Yidaoan wars' foremost cause was the rivalry between two main powers on the continent, Wahngjau and Qyred. Representing the economic centers of Yidao which were more developed and thus largely evaded overly intrusive Asuran colonialism in the post-Maengtau era, these two powers and their associates were generally able to modernize on partially western lines and be able to potentially compete with the Asuran powers, while being the main actors in the region. The agency of native powers was important in the development of the Great Turbulence, which unique for the time period was remarkably relatively independent from geopolitical dynamics in the broader western world.

Although Qyred's 19th century maritime empire in Savai was lost in its violent transition from the Chen dynasty to the Tsin, the Tshinho Emperor who reigned from 1903 to 1914 reignited an expansionist momentum in Qyred, conquering the Kuang kingdom in 1906 to its northern coast and then the Lang kingdom in 1908, to Kuang's west. Building on the base of these states' industry, Qyred then turned these northern conquests into a heavy industry base via a state-directed, indigenously planned process that impressed the world and made its power even greater. Qyred became the only Yidaoan state to develop an expansive indigenous military industry and achieve armaments self-sufficiency. Tshinho and his successor Utshau also built up for Qyred a bloc of allies and client states, while reinforcing relations with Asuran powers such as traditional Qyredine ally tir Lhaeraidd.

Alarmed by Qyredine expansion and desiring to contain it, [...]

Poy politics also played a significant role.

A cold war developed between Qyredine and Jau blocs. The two blocs entered an escalating arms race beginning in 1922 with the competition of warship construction; this extended to the buildup of materiel and combat forces in all fields. A number of border skirmishes between secondary bloc members occured during this period; although they were in themselves insignificant, they caused diplomatic incidents that served to deepen tensions as well as perceptions of hostility in Yidao.

Second Great War

The rise of the Federation of Socialist Republics and the consequent outbreak of the Second Great War in the 1920s constrained the major Asuran powers severely as their strength had to be focused on staving off the massive communist incursion. By the time the Turbulence began, the ability for any Asuran power to act in Yidao was heavily limited due to the war in Asura, and so more room was present for the agency of the local powers, which perhaps emboldened the escalation of a conflict that was previously mediated by Asurans to ensure the safety of their own economic interests in the region.

In addition, the FSR supported and even engineered the rise of communist movements in Yidao as part of a policy of export of revolution. In northern Yidao, which was not only less developed but also generally colonized and unstable, revolutionary socialism found popularity with local intellectuals and exploded into a considerable movement. In the south, Qyred and Wahngjau and the states between them were all generally able to suppress the rise of communism through authoritarianism and appeasing bouts of populist economic policies.

It was not until later in the Turbulence did communism truly become a concern as communist Tangkuo entered the total war of the south, with noticeable FSR support, which alarmed all local powers. There were never formal clashes between the Jau and socialist blocs, however.

Course of the Turbulence

Total war (1950-55)

After repeated setbacks in proxy wars and military buildup that made its generals rather confident, Qyred escalated the conflict to intense total war in 1950 by invading free Wahngjau with full force from collaborator territory. Simultaneously, an expedition was sent to Tangkuo to destroy the newly established communist government there. This was expected to be a minor task for the Qyredine army due to the shaky hold of the communists but it proved to force the Qyredines to be engaged in a second theater.

The 1950 offensive into Wahngjau was initially a success, but at the battles of ???, ???, and ???, the Qyredines were checked, and the war entered a stalemate. The Qyredines also failed to decisively crush Tangkuo in one campaign and were forced to attempt to gradually defeat the communists. 1951 was dominated by numerous massive intensive and expensive maneuvers in the Jau theater and the stiffening of Tanggu resistance. The lack of gains in combat was worsened by the collapse of Qyredine allies in western Yidao, the overheating of the Qyredine economy, and intense discontent within its commanding ranks.

In 1952, a Jau counteroffensive began, though it was not until 1953 did most Qyredine forces get expelled from Wahngjau and the collaborationist regime destroyed. Besides attrition, Qyredine strength was sapped by the need for increasingly large forces to be deployed against Tangkuo, weakening its front in Wahngjau. In 1953 Tanggu forces also began pushing Qyredines back and in 1954 overran Kuang. By 1954, most of Qyred's allies also collapsed, defected, or withdrew from the war.

With foreign armies entering its territory, Qyred entered a state of emergency and panic. Fortunately counteroffensives organized by general ??? took effect and stalled further Jau and Tanggu advances into Qyred, and in early 1955 southern Kuang was even retaken by Qyredine troops. However, Qyred was becoming exhausted in all aspects, and FSR-supported strategic bombing left its industry desolated.

Worried about the expansion of communists on the continent, the Jau leadership decided to secretly approach Qyred for negotiations by 1954 to secure an arrangement that avoided a Tanggu takeover of Qyred.