Reikish-Norcourtian War of 1846
| Reikish-Norcourtian War | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Reikish Wars of Expansion, Norcourtian Unification Wars | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Reikland | Norcourt | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| President Nathaniel Algren | King Alessandro I | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| Reikish Army | Norcourtian Army | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 126,000 men initially, 2.5 million peak field strength, 11.4 million total served | 500,000 men initially, 1.89 million peak field strength, 8.3 million total served | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 958,983 | 699,300 | ||||||
The Reikish-Norcourtian War was a military conflict fought from May 1346 to July 1347 in which Reikland's colonial ambitions on Achara were upset by the recently formed nation of Norcourt. The immediate cause of the war was a Reikish claim to islands along the northern coast of Norcourt, claims which drew their basis from historical accounts of Reikish settlements from the 1st century AD. Longer term causes involved the expansionist attituded of the Reikish Commonwealth and their desire for territory on the vast continent of Achara.
Despite attempts at negotiation, the Reikish Government refused to recognize the new Norcourtian state until their claims were also recognized. President Algren issued an ultimatum to the Norcourtian government, demanding the surrender of the claimed islands and an exorbitant payment of nearly R£10 million, a sum equal to nearly R£1.2 billion today. When the Norcourtian government refused, the Reikish Parliament declared war.
The conflict was marked by Reikish overconfidence and incompetence on land, while the Reikish Navy effected the complete destruction of the young Norcourtian Navy and a blockade of Norcourtian ports. Endless setbacks on land, exasperated by poor organization, incompetent leadership, and ill-disciplined and poorly motivated volunteer soldiers, resulted in the Reikish being unable to translate their success at sea to the ground war. As Reikish troops encountered well trained and experienced Norcourtian soldiers, led by competent and skilled officers, the war dragged on in a stalemate for over nine years.
Following endless setbacks on land and a growing lack of public support for the war, the Reikish sued for peace in May of 1355, with a ceasefire and armistice agreed to by July. The war is largely remembered by the Reikish as a fool's errand, a useless expedition embarked upon in a vain attempt to save the failing Whig Party. The defeat would sour imperial expansion in Reikland for a generation and lead to additional conflicts over the next decade in various colonial holdings, including the Volgan War of Liberation from 1856-1860. In Norcourt, the war is remembered very differently, as the quench which solidified the forging of the new Norcourtian nation.
Nearly 1.7 million men and women became casualties during the war, including nearly 600,000 dead. It was the deadliest war for Reikland since the Reikish Civil War, 226 years earlier.
The Causes of the War
The Reikish-Norcourtian War did not begin out of the blue. A multitude of factors, ranging from Reikish expansionism to Norcourtian Nationalism, contributed to the start of the war. Modern historians disagree as to which factors had the greatest influence on the decision to go to war, but most agree that the war was inevitable.
Reikish Expansionism
Starting at the turn of the century, the Commonwealth of Reikland saw a period of aggressive expansion. New colonies were established and old ones were expanded. A half century of new conquests brought wealth and power to Reikland and, with that wealth and power, came the rise of the expansionist Whig Party. Championed by the explorers of the past century, the Whigs had steadily gained power as the Commonwealth's colonial holdings expanded. By the early 1820s, they were the dominant political party and could count many in the Army among their ranks.
The Whigs expansionist sentiments were fueled by the warhawks within the officer corps. Almost to a man, officers in the Reikish Army were men of status and privilege. The sons and daughters of wealthy landowners and businessmen. It was an unforeseen side effect of the exclusive nature of the Commonwealth Military Academy, since admission required letters from both a Member of Parliament and a currently serving officer to speak to the character of the applicant. This kept many aspiring but low-class men and women from entering the CMA, instead having to either enlist or seek acceptance to other, equally exclusive but provincially administered, academies. The system of patronage and bribery that evolved around the CMA resulted in an officer corps that was corrupt, inept, stagnant, and eager to win glory on the battlefield. Gloryhounds in the colonies dragged the Commonwealth into one war after another, wars that were, more often than not, successful inspite of their ineptitude. Their success only encouraged them.
Norcourtian Unification
On January 2nd, 1826, the newly formed Sicalian Republic elected Alessandro Brigandi (July 23rd, 1780 - April 3rd 1851) to lead the young nation, a prominent Sicalian General during the wars against Wargloria. Brigandi began his rule by reestablishing the Elixian Council, and the Elixian Army in violation of the Treaty of Galia. Mobilizing in secret, Brigandi would inspire Elixian Nationalism throughout the continent, promising a Unified Norcourt, under his rule, and on September 8th 1831, began a guerilla war against the Warglorian occupied territories, beginning the Norcourtian Unification.
The war had started out on a relatively small scale, with no proper declaration. Initially a Guerilla War, bands of Sicalian troops, and local partisans would begin raiding Warglorian Caravans, Settlers, and ambushing military personnel when possible. On June 12th, 1832, Brigandi would launch an offensive against the Warglorian occupied, Vergaus & Jalum, gaining the support of Elixian citizens along the way. Though costly, Brigandi's 3rd Elixian Army defeated the Warglorians at The Battle of Vergaus & Jalum, and sparked a nationalist surge throughout Western Elixia, with partisan activity increasing to an all time high in 1833.
On March 9th 1833, Brigandi invaded the old capital of Norcourtia and Harbrook, in what was perhaps the bloodiest battle of the war. The Sicalian Fleet would perform convoy raids and shore bombardment along the southern coasts of Warglorian occupied Elixia, but would turn tail when overrun, and rebase afterwards.
After taking Norcourtia, Brigandi officially restored the Sicalian Monarchy, though with no available heir to House De Argent, the Elixian Council crowned Alessandro, who had began gaining further support among Elixians in the continent, after shifting the capital to the ancient city of Norcourtia, and unifying much of Elixia. He was titled Alessandro I, King of Norcourt, and Emperor of Elixia.
Despite the series of victories, the offensive was not over, and Brigandi's armies invaded the territories of Bamburg, Galia, and Freesay. The final campaign would prove to be the hardest, with much of the 3rd Elixian Army being killed in the process, and a major defeat in Bamburg prompted a retreat into a static offensive and siege. Eventually the Warglorians would conclude a surrender of the territories taken by the newly unified Norcourtian Kingdom, on April 12th 1835, after four years of constant fighting. The Treaty of Freesay 1835, granted Norcourt the regions of Norcourtia, Galia, Freesay, Bamburg, Jalum, Harbrook, Vergaus, Saradegra, Trustin, Scylia & Neapolia, while the Warglorians were to maintain a smaller colonial presence in the western regions of the former Western Confederation, while also recognizing Norcourtian Independence.