Vasilin Sea crisis
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| Vasilin Sea crisis | |||||||
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Clockwise from top: Sunfish cargo ship after being struck by SRV Svinska, 1994 • Saroqi resistance fighters during the 2014 Saterocian invasion of Saroq, 2014 • Nalkei Airlines Flight 655, which was shot down by Saterocian forces in 1994 • Andre Puoc pictured with several other foreign leaders during the Vostoc I Accord, 1998 • Destroyed P-74 belonging to the Brotherhood of Kolkesburg in Thres during the Satero-Denzali border conflict, 1997 | |||||||
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Support:  EUEEN | |||||||
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 Perie Jefferson |
 Naum Pavlavain | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
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 ~64 soldiers killed | ||||||
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The Vasilin Sea crisis, also known as the Sateroc crisis was a period of heightened tensions between the Puoc regime in Sateroc and its neighbors in the Vasilin Sea, especially Saroq, which Sateroc invaded three times throughout the crisis. However, other important state actors, such as Vœyetska and North Kandson played an important role throughout the crisis as they opposed the Puoc regime. The crisis at sea was characterized by repeated naval confrontations, and although there was no direct combat, both sides took steps to indirectly combat the other.
Sateroc has repeatedly sought to confront its Vasilin Sea neighbors through hostile means, and vowed to "destroy all of its enemies" multiple times throughout the crisis. Due to this, the international community designated Sateroc as a rouge state in 1992 in response to several threats from the Puoc regime. Because of Sateroc's hostility towards its neighbors, there had been concern over the Sateroc's nuclear weapons program, which eventually forced both sides to negotiate several time throughout the crisis and approach the conflict through a diplomatic view. Nations of the Vasilin Sea sought to weaken Sateroc's nuclear capabilities, and also heavily funded Saroq, the breakaway region that had declared independence from Sateroc.
Sateroc's hostility towards its neighbors followed the Saterocian Civil War and the 1954 Saterocian coup d'etat, in which Arnuad Puoc and his successors expressed animosity to their neighbors due to their support of the monarchy, and later, republican dissidents. However, the height of the conflict kicked off in the late 70s, when Andre Puoc announced "national reclamation operations" in the Vasilin Sea and other lands he claimed were rightfully Saterocian. In response to this, both sides deployed their navies into international waters, and numerous naval confrontations happened during the crisis. Due to these repeated confrontations, Saterocian ships regularly fired on civilian and cargo ships either by mistake or on purpose. The most notable of these attacks came in the form of the sinking of the Blue Savior, when a Saterocian naval vessel sunk a refugee ship during the Second Wheat War, killing over 400 refugees and drawing significant international condemnation.
The other nations of the crisis, meanwhile, took steps to oppose Sateroc's hostility, and maintained ties with Sateroc's international adversaries such as Zamastan. North Kandson's João dos Senell signed multiple treaties with Zamastan to allow for the stationing of ZDAF aircraft in the country to act as a deterrent. Disputes between North Kandson and Rettoa over the Roca Inlet led to multiple standoffs, but was quelled with the 1988 Treaty of Myrance. The involvement of Sateroc in the 1988 Lœjka crisis resulted in a serious diplomatic breakdown between Sateroc and Vœyetska, and raised the possibility of war between both nations. In 1997, the Brotherhood of Kolkesburg attacked the Denzali border town of Thres, resulting in the Satero-Denzali border conflict. The Kolkesburg Brotherhood, which was an extremist, sometimes far-right paramilitary unit heavily funded by the Puoc regime, was also involved in several conflicts abroad to the concern of the international community, most notably the Beatavic Civil War (1998-2002).
Saterocian dissidents, protestors, and opposition parties were frequently imagined and attacked as members of the "western armies", or as agents of "Sateroc's enemies".
Background
In 1953, the Saterocian monarchy was overthrown in a revolution due to unpopular doings by the monarchy, specifically King Mirnsec V, who suspended parliament following an assassination attempt which wounded Mirnsec. After the monarchy was overthrown, and the royal family was murdered, conservative and rural civilians loyal to the monarchy rose up against the new republic and began a 7-month long civil war which saw the deaths of at least 84,000 Saterocians. However, in the end, the republican government won after a final offensive into Cascutia which saw the final loyalists surrender. However, President Goen conflicted with his generals over which direction he wanted to take Sateroc, and less than a month after the end of the civil war, these generals formed the Unitary Salvation Forces and overthrew the republic, executing President Goen in the process.
At the helm of the USF was Arnaud Puoc, who was an older general who commanded portions of the republican army during the Saterocian civil war. He quickly garnered support by pushing nationalist sentiments across the country, including a rapid militarization by conscripting a lot of Sateroc's able-bodied men into the military, along with constructing modernized equipment. Puoc was also anti-western, as many western countries supported the monarchy, and condemned Puoc's take over, many of which also refused to recognize Puoc as "leader-general" of Sateroc. Because of this, Sateroc was surrounded by countries hostile to itself, further intensifying the rapid military build-up. Vœyetska in particular was repeatedly threatened over anti-monarchist sentiments before the crisis officially began. Not only this, however Vœyetska heavily assisted Saterocian loyalists and monarchists during the civil war, supplying them with aid, and sometimes even directly intervening.
Saroq, a nation which had seceded in the midst of an internal crisis in Sateroc, received countless threats from Puoc's government in the years following the takeover of power. Puoc had plans to invade the country and annex it once again, which caused an even more tense situation between him and Sateroc's neighbors, along with a majority of the international community which opposed Puoc. In the months leading up to 8 September 1967, Sateroc's fresh naval forces were deployed in the outer parts of its territorial waters in preparation for the first invasion of Saroq.
Timeline
First Wheat War
Main article: First Wheat War
On 8 September, 1967, Saterocian forces launched a surprise invasion of Saroq, initiating the First Wheat War. At first, the Saterocian Air Force began a large-scale bombing campaign aimed at annihilating Saroq's defensive capabilities, however this campaign also resulted in heavy civilian fatalities. Then, Saterocian ground forces launched a large-scale invasion of Saroq, aimed at taking over the whole breakaway nation, while the Saterocian Navy was in the process of completing a blockade of the Saroqi coastline. In response to the sudden and unprecedented crisis, the nations of the region, headed by Vœyetska, immediately condemned and introduced the first set of sanctions against Sateroc, which would eventually lead to the diplomatic breakdown between both sides of the conflict. In response to this, Sateroc claimed that the invasion was in response to a "prolonged military rebellion" by traitors in Saroq, however they refused to budge.
Within the first few weeks of the invasion, Sateroc made progress in taking Saroq over, as they focused on capturing the country's coastline by continuing their offensive southwards in order to cut Saroq off from the sea. However, it soon became apparent that Sateroc had severely underestimated Saroq's forces, as they were completely stopped in their trackes by October. For the next few months, a stalemate ensued, and Sateroc instead focused on bombing civilian targets in order to force Saroq to come to the negotiation table. However, Saroq refused to negotiate, continuing to thwart Saterocian attacks. Sateroc also accused Vœyetska of funding and arming Saroq, however Vœyetska refused these allegations, but also claimed that they fully politically supported Saroqi resistance against the Saterocian invasion. Then, in January of 1968, Saroqi forces began to launch a series of counterattacks, forcing the eventual withdrawal of Saterocian forces form Saroqi territory. The war as a whole is largely regarded as a Saterocian failure, and played a huge role in strengthening ties between Saroq and other nations of the Vasilin Sea.
Saterocian leadership crisis
Main article: Death of Arnaud Puoc and Assassination of Tilmann Puoc
Less than two months after the First Wheat War ended in failure, General Arnaud Puoc was reportedly diagnosed with incurable brain cancer by his doctors. Allegedly, he ordered the execution of these doctors, however also began to take steps behind the scenes in order to begin a power transfer over to his younger brother, Tilmann Puoc. Throughout this short period from 1968 to 1969, Puoc rarely appeared in public, instead appointing military commanders and family members to take care of different businesses as he spent most of his final months in hospital beds. Whenever he did appear in public, he usually wore hats, sunglasses, gloves and other pieces of clothes that would cover up the fact that he was ill. However, there speculation among citizens that something was wrong, as he appeared one last time in public on 29 November, 1968, when he met with several commanders in Coretas. Not much is known about his final days, however reportedly he was admitted into a private hospital sometime in late December after his health was in a state of rapid decline. After going in and out of consciousness for over a week, he would pass away on 6 January 1969, just 6 days into the new year. However, his death was only made public nearly a week after he actually passed, after his younger brother, Tilmann Puoc, who had immediately succeeded Arnaud, announced his death. A week-long mourning period took place in Sateroc, from 12 January to the 19th.
Tilmann was wildly different from his predecessor and older brother, Arnaud Puoc. Instead of hostility and oppression, he was more open to a diplomatic solution with countries such as Saroq and Vœyetska, who welcomed the change. He also introduced several policies which allowed for limited freedoms which had previously been cracked down upon by Arnaud. However, just over two months after he had come to power, on 8 March 1969, Tilmann was suddenly assassinated. During a tour around Kolkesburg on horseback, Tilmann Puoc was fatally shot twice in the chest and once in the head by Moqaq Pojel. Of course, due to the assassination being in the middle of a tour, the fact that he was dead was made public immediately, and Andre Puoc, his son, who was appointed to power by several military commanders on the same day just hours after the assassination of Tilmann, would announce the death of his father on that day. The short reign of Tilmann meant that there was hope that the crisis could be solved diplomatically, however his assassination completely changed things.
Andre, completely different than his father, believed in policies that promoted political oppression, militarism, and an aggressive foreign policy. Puoc, who had just witnessed the death of two of his predecessors in just two months, was infused with feelings of anger and paranoia. Just a week after his father had been killed, he stated that he "fully believed" that Sateroc's external enemies were behind the death of not only Tilmann, but Andre as well. However, it has been historically proven that Tilmann's assassination was most likely due to a Cascutian nationalist as a part of the War in Cascutia, a conflict in northern Sateroc unrelated to the Vasilin crisis. Despite this, Andre remained true to his accusations, and stated that things would become wildly different than things were under his predecessors. One of the first things he did as the leader of Sateroc was to purge his government of who he claimed were "obvious traitors". He gathered his government just outside in the yard of the former monarchial palace, and read a list of names. The names were the names of people who he believed were planning to sabotoge his government, and they were subsequently detained by soldiers. What happened to them has remained unknown as they were never seen again, however many theories state that they were kept in underground bunkers to be tortured or even executed.
Increased militarization
With Andre at the head of Sateroc, he made the decision to take a completely different path than his predecessors. Starting in 1970, he began several programs in order to consolidate the cult of personality that was growing around him, and the country's propaganda department started to push out anti-Saroqi and anti-Vœyetskan propaganda, claiming that the country's neighbors were seeking to destroy the Saterocian identity and that Sateroc was alone in its efforts to survive against growing global hegemony from the international order. Around this time, Sateroc also started to heavily militarize, as it began to conscript first hundreds of thousands, then millions of soldiers into its rapidly growing military. Hundreds of military schools, bases, and military offices were contructed around the country, and many of them were visited by Puoc himself in an attempt to promote the country's militarization. Along with this, numerous factories across the country were used in order to mass-produce domestic military equipment, such as guns, tanks, planes, naval vessels, and other equipment. Puoc himself personally ordered a large percentage of Sateroc's budget to go towards military spending. Around this time, to the concern of several nations, Sateroc held large-scale military drills near the Saroqi border, and due to this, many were expecting a second war between Sateroc and Saroq, however that never came and instead Sateroc continued these drills without portraying hostility towards its neighbors.
On 20 October 1973, after weeks worth of preparations, the Saterocian military held a large-scale military parade in Kolkesburg, attended by almost every government and military official of the country. The parade consisted of tens of thousands of soldiers, as well as hundreds of vehicles and planes flying overhead the city, with the city's airspace being shut down for commercial use during the few hours before, during, and after the parade. After the parade was over, Puoc, standing atop a podium in the country's presidential palace, would make a speech, which would come to be known as the 1973 Kolkesburg Proclamation. In the speech, he formally declared the People's Glorious Revolutionary State of Sateroc, also revealing a newly drafted constitution which consolidated his power over the government. He announced that the flag had been changed to include the white, blue, and black colors of Saterocian nationalism, alongside an eagle which was a sign of Saterocian unity. Ater this, he proclaimed himself as the "Third Glorious Savior of Sateroc", with his predecessors being the "First" and "Second" saviors. At the end of the speech, in a controversial proclamation, he declared that Sateroc and by extent the Puoc regime had true authority over the Vasilin Sea region and lands surrounding it. He finally called on neighboring countries to "de-occupy" rightfully Saterocian lands. The proclamation drew concern from the international community, as it established Puoc as Sateroc's sole, unchallenged leader, while attempting to escalate tensions between Sateroc and its neighbors.
Continued tensions
After the Kolkesburg Proclamation, despite concern from the international community, tensions seemed to ease for a while going into the mid and late-1970s. While Puoc continued to threaten Sateroc's neighbors, only sporadic incidents would take place every once in a while. However, tensions were of course still high, with Saterocian naval ships making regular incursions into other nations' naval waters. Saterocian jets were also regularly intercepted by several different air forces across the region. Going into the 1980s, the number of incidents would increase, however no significant incidents would occur.
On 24 August, 1982, several large fishing boats from North Kandson somehow ended up in Saterocian waters after drifting away from international waters. The fishing boats had, therefore, left international jurisdiction and other nations couldn't prevent any incidents. The Saterocian Navy promptly raided these boats, detained nearly 40 fishermen, and took them back to mainland Sateroc. According to one of the fishermen in a later interview, the fishermen were taken to a prison in southern Cascutia, where they were interrogated, and in many cases, tortured by military personnel. Apparently, the Puoc regime had accused them of being spies for Zamastan, due to Zamastan having recently completed military bases in North Kandson. After several months, however, Sateroc agreed to release the fishermen in exchange for a former Saterocian soldier in North Kandson accused of espionage for the Puoc government, after intense negotiations took place.
Lœjka crisis
Reclamation operations
• 11 April 1989: Amidst rapidly rising tensions, Andre Puoc announces the start of "reclamation operations" in the Vasilin Sea. "The navy is to be mobilized for our reclamation efforts" he stated, "we will let our neighbors know, that whatever happens, we are stronger, better, and more willing." On the same day, Saterocian naval vessels began traversing through international waters in the Vasilin Sea, sometimes nearing territorial waters of nations such as Saroq and Vœyetska.
• 16 April 1989: A squadron of Saterocian jets conduct a series of airstrikes against targets across the border with Saroq. Puoc claimed that the airstrikes were conducted following "credible threats" that Saroq was preparing an imminent attack on Saterocian border regions. Nearly 70 Saroqis were killed, with 43 of them being civilians and ~25 of them being soldiers.
Saterocian nuclear program
• 12 May 1993: The Saterocian government announced its intentions to conduct a nuclear test "in the coming weeks". Vœyetska warned Sateroc to refrain from "escalating current tensions".
• 20 May 1993: At 02:32:16 local time, Sateroc detonated a nuclear device in the desolate far-northern portions of Cascutia, and Puoc confirmed just minutes later to the Saterocian public that his forces had tested a "device capable of destroying our enemies". The maximum yield of the explosion was 18 kilotons.
The test drew condemnation from across the world, and further sanctions were imposed on Sateroc for the test, however fears arose of what a conflict with Sateroc could look like. Many in the Vasilin Sea were now scared of the prospect of the Puoc regime holding an arsenal of nuclear weapons that could potentially be used if Sateroc percieved any nation to be hostile to it.
Satero-Denzali border conflict
• 10 July 1993: The armies of Sateroc and Denzal begin engaging in significantly violent clashes near their shared border. This drives thousands of citizens out of the area, mainly into the safer nation of Denzal.
• 12 July 1993: A few thousand Saterocian militants under the Brotherhood of Kolkesburg, an extremist militia affiliated with the Saterocian Armed Forces, launches an assault on a significant border town within Denzal.
• 17 July 1993: After nearly a week of fighting and urgent negotiations, the Saterocian Armed Forces and the Kolkesburg Brotherhood agree to withdraw from Thres, ending the week-long Satero-Denzali border conflict.
Shooting down of Nalkei Airlines flight
• 8 January 1994: Nalkei Airlines Flight 655, a civilian airliner flying out of Sjédal, Vœyetska, is shot down by a Saterocian Air Force Embasse-86 whilst flying over the southern Saterocian coastal town of Bembleaux. All 238 passengers and 13 crew members were killed, and the aircraft remnants landed less than a mile off Sateroc's coast.
Height of tensions
• 17 March 1995: Without any prior warning, Sateroc conducts a second nuclear test, this time being over two times larger than the 1993 test. The test, this time conducted off of Sateroc's coast near the Northern Ocean, drew international condemnation.
Second Wheat War
• 8 September 1997: On the 30th anniversery of the First Wheat War, Saterocian forces began a large-scale bombardment of Saroqi border towns using artillery and aircraft, along with limited strikes in Elmonton, which still resulted in a high death toll in Saroq. Hours later, about 70,000 Saterocian troops, along with dozens of vehicles, entered Saroq and began engaging Saroqi troops in border towns.
Experts warned that a conflict in the Vasilin Sea between Sateroc and other nations of the sea was "imminent" following the initiation of the Second Wheat War as the Vasilin community condemned Sateroc's invasion.
• 10 September 1997: Saterocian destroyer Houllouis, one of many Saterocian naval vessels blockading the Saroqi coast due to the ongoing conflict, sinks the foreign refugee ship Blue Savior carrying refugees from Saroq to Vœyetska, killing some 400 civilians and humanitarian aid workers. The unnamed refugee ship reportedly failed to communicate with the Houllouis, resulting in what Puoc later called "retaliatory measures"
• 13 September 1997: After less than a week of conflict, both warring sides signed a ceasefire sponsored by -insert nation(s)-. Despite no official victory, Puoc claimed victory in the war, considering his forces remained in control of over a dozen settlements on the Saroqi side of the border, claiming that the original war goal was to "achieve domination", not to occupy all of Saroq.
Vostoc Accords
• 20 December 1999: As part of an international effort to get Sateroc to disarm their nuclear weapons, the - Accords are signed, in which Sateroc agrees to limit their nuclear stockpile in exchange for the lifting of several sanctions.
• 11 March 2009 - 15 June 2010: After a series of negotiations, Sateroc formally agrees to disarm their nuclear weapons. Over the course of the next year, Sateroc disassembles their nukes, and in exchange for this, multiple nations agree to leave the issue of Saroq to Sateroc solely, as well as the lifting of many sanctions.
Death of Andre Puoc
• 30 November 2011: After falling in and out of consciousness for several days, Andre Puoc expectedly passes away late on 30 November. Georg Puoc succeeded his father as "Glorious Savior of Sateroc", and immediately announces a month-long mourning period, in which businesses and other services across the country are closed down throughout this period.
Third Wheat War
• 8 May 2014: A barrage of missiles hit Saroq in the middle of the day, before Saterocian ground forces crossed their occupation zones into Saroq, beginning the Third Wheat War. Puoc would announce a "renewed operation" into "rebel-held territory" just minutes after the first wave of missiles was reported. The international community was quick to condemn Sateroc on the invasion, with many nations calling the conflict "illegal".
• 10 May 2014: In response to the Saterocian invasion of Saroq, President Cassious Castovia of Zamastan announced that Zamastan and a group of other countries would be imposing a total economic embargo on Sateroc after sanctions had been loosened, basically nullifying the 2009 agreement in which sanctions were supposed to be partially lifted and stated that Sateroc would be left to deal with Saroq without foreign involvement.
• 7 July 2014: President Verditis Slachmas of Saroq is captured and subsequently executed by Saterocian forces in Elmonton after the city falls to Saterocian forces following a lengthy battle. Puoc announces that the "renewed operation" in Saroq has "come to a close". A new, dictatorial government is installed in Elmonton as Saterocian forces begin rounding up an punishing dissidents in an occupied Saroq.
Renewed tensions
2019 Saterocian Revolution and aftermath
• 5 October 2018: The first stages of the 2019 Saterocian Revolution begins, as the execution of several citizens due to their vandalism of Georg Puoc's autobiography leads to a wave of large protests across Sateroc. Most of the international community responds to the protests by announcing their support for the protests.
• 18 January 2019: Sateroc accuses Vœyetska of directly arming and funding the protest movements, and states that the Saterocian army has been put on a state of "high alert" in order to deter any further funding. Vœyetska responds by denying these accusations, however reiterates their support for the protest movements.
• 19 May 2019: In the early hours of this day, the Saterocian army leads a coup against the Puoc regime, toppling the government within hours and installing a military junta. At first, the general public was in support of the coup, however after the junta refused calls to negotiate with civilian organizations, mass protests against the government continue.
• 28 May 2019: After a series of intense negotiations, the junta finally decides to stand down, handing power over to a civilian transitional government. In June, Jonrov Mornes, an ex-commander in the military and a prominent leader in the protest movements, is elected as the country's first president, at which point the crisis is considered over due to a diplomatic rapprochement with Sateroc's neighbors.
Casualties
Foreign involvement
Reactions
Backing Sateroc
Backing Vasilin Sea nations
Emmiria: Emmiria's government condemned Sateroc's actions on numerous occasions throughout the crisis. Perhaps the most notable condemnation came in 1997, when President Raaid al-Taheri accused Sateroc of crimes against humanity in an address to the CCA General Assembly only days after the 10 September sinking of a refugee ship, which resulted in the deaths of 400 civilians and humanitarian aid workers.