Satero-Denzali border conflict

Satero-Denzali border conflict
Part of Hamburger Fence dispute
Commander of the Kolkesburg Brotherhood, Henri Morozov, stands next to one of his men amidst the Battle of Thres
Date 10 July - 17 July 1993 Location Satero-Denzali border regions Result Negotiations result in withdrawal of Saterocian forces Border dispute continues
Belligerents
Sateroc • Saterocian Armed Forces Brotherhood of Kolkesburg	Denzal
Commanders and leaders
Henri Morozov Andre Puoc (alleged)	denzal commander
Strength
3,500-8,000 100-1,200	denzal troops
Casualties and losses
100-350	denzal casualties

The Satero-Denzali border conflict, also known as the Hamburger Fence War or the Satero-Denzali clashes, as well as the Week-long War or the July War locally, was a week-long border conflict between Denzali defense forces and elements of the Saterocian Army alongside an affiliated militia organization known as the Brotherhood of Kolkesburg.

The conflict occurred in a region formerly disputed by both countries known as the Hamburger Fence in Denzal and Saroq Delouse in Sateroc. Although the region was administered and occupied by Denzal, Sateroc came to claim it after the rise of Arnaud Puoc and his successors in the Saterocian government and military, claiming it was once part of the many Saterocian kingdoms that came before the country's eventual unification and therefore rightfully Saterocian. This was amidst the highest point of tensions in the Vasilin Sea crisis, with Sateroc having essentially turned into an international pariah due to constant human rights abuses and the continuous violation of international law. Andre Puoc and the Saterocian government alleged that Denzali forces had expelled ethnic Saterocians from the region, which led to a standoff between Saterocian and Denzali troops at the border that eventually turned into large clashes after an incident on 10 July, 1993.

Clashes resumed for two days with both sides receiving dozens of casualties and even a few fatalities as the clashes continued to increase in violence. The Saterocian government had already cut ties with Denzal in 1989, therefore there was no open communication channel for either of the countries to reach out to in order to resolve the fighting. Then, on 12 July, the Brotherhood of Kolkesburg, a far-right extremist group de facto part of the Saterocian military at the time, launched a large incursion into the disputed region involving thousands of troops. As they reached Thres and began to bombard the city, elements of the Saterocian Air Force had provided heavy air support to the group, however Saterocian officials denied this and continue to do so up to this day. Amidst this, several neighboring countries would hastily act as neutral powers in order to negotiate a ceasefire before the conflict escalated. The Battle of Thres, which would be the only major engagement of the conflict, would see the use of not only thousands of troops, however as well as tanks, armored vehicles, and aircraft, while the Kolkesburg Brotherhood was accused of committing atrocities against the civilian populace.

A ceasefire was negotiated on 17 July just five days after the initial incursion into the region following an oral statement by both sides, stating that a ceasefire had been successfully reached. Saterocian forces would withdraw from the devastated town, claiming that they had only lost less than 50 troops, while official estimates showed losses numbering from 100 up to 350. The Denzali government would officially state that -- men had been lost, however Kolkesburg refuted this claims, claiming that they had lost up to 700 men in just five days, with the Kolkesburg Brotherhood claiming a thousand men dead on their side. Official estimates by the CCA stated that at least 316 soldiers and civilians were killed in total, with many more unaccounted for.

Despite the ceasefire, clashes between Saterocian and Denzali forces continued near the disputed region for years later, with both sides accusing the other of violating the agreement. Dozens of soldiers would die in ensuing clashes, which culminated in the 1996 Thres airstrike, a carefully planned aerial operation by the Saterocian Air Force on Thres just three years later. The dispute was mostly resolved in 2019 after the 2019 Saterocian revolution in which the new Saterocian government under President Jonrov Mornes gave up the claims on the area.

Background

The territorial ownership of the area had been heavily contested by both sides every since the 1953 Saterocian Revolution, in which ideals of nationalism in the Saterocian Puoc regime brought a push by the Saterocian government to take control over the region, which had a large Saterocian population and was historically one of the many Saterocian kingdoms until Denzal took control of it by the time Sateroc had unified in the late 17th century. Despite this, the Kingdom of Sateroc continued to claim the region as independent from Denzal, with the issue persisting as Sateroc expanded in the 19th century into Cascutia and other smaller kingdoms which were either invaded or peacefully incorporated into the growing kingdom. In 1923, the Saroqi War of Independence kicked off in Sateroc after enduring years of a failing economy, mistreatment by Saterocian forces, and a famine. Saroq won and gained its independence, although this was disputed by Sateroc which refused to recognize Saroq unlike most of the world. This reduced the Satero-Denzali border toa tiny sliver of land in the north, however the Saterocian monarchy insisted that the border was larger due to the disputed region, which at this point had been dubbed Saroq Delouse by Saterocian officials.

Saterocian Revolution and Vasilin Sea Crisis

See also: Vasilin Sea crisis

In 1952, Sateroc was thrusted into a period of instability after an assassination attempt on King Mirnesc V, which led to him leading a self-coup and absorbing power along with the country's military. In 1953, months of demonstrations against the monarchy led to the 1953 Saterocian revolution in which Mirnesc V was overthrown by a civilian uprising. This in turn led to the Saterocian Civil War after a loyalist uprising against the revolutionary government, with a failed intervention by Vœyetskan forces in favor of the monarchy, which was a close ally of Denzal. By the time the revolutionaries had prevailed, and the 1954 Saterocian coup d'etat ousted the new republican government in favor of a military junta, the situation around the Vasilin Sea was becoming tense. However, nothing would really kick off for about a decade and a half, until Sateroc invaded Saroq in 1967, kickstarting the Vasilin Sea crisis.

The crisis led to Sateroc largely being outed as a despotic and aggressive rouge state by its neighbors and most of the international community, including Denzal, which continued the trend of worsening relations between both nations. With Arnaud Puoc coming to power, his paranoia made him one of the worst dictators in the history of Iearth, with terrible conditions for Saterocian citizens. This, mixed with a usually aggressive foreign policy led to Sateroc being even more isolated. By the 1990s, Sateroc had started to heavily press their claim on the disputed region, along with Saroq and the Vasilin Sea in general, which caused a build-up of military forces by both sides, most notably Zamastan sending historic aid to their ally North Kandson. Sateroc would purchase weapons from many anti-western powers across the globe, hugely boosting their defenses. The government of Sateroc repeatedly claimed that Denzali authorities were repeatedly trampling over the rights of Saterocians in the border region, despite no evidence proving so.