War of the Commons
The War of the Commons (15 August 2019 - 2 May 2020) was a conflict that ravaged the Erebonian Empire during the Imperial Crisis. Following the Erebonian Civil War, Erebonian Prime Minister Giliath Osborne abolished the House of the Nobility and consolidated his rule through military force. Following the Shooting of the Crown incident in 17 July, Emperor Eugent Reize Arnor III fell into a coma. Osborne fixed the blame for the Emperor's assassination on the Calvard Republic, allowing Osborne to assume absolute rule with his declaration of Martial Law on the same month.
Later, he initiated a plan to conquer the Calvard Republic, which had remained unable to fight the in the war since 2018. While most military generals supported the move, Governor Carl Regnitz (a friend of Osborne) opposed it, citing that the balance of power in Zemuria was threatened. Osborne, however, ignored the Governor's protest. Field Marshal Louis Vandyke enforced Osborne's National Mobilisation Law, raising the army's strength by 2,500,000 strong. Operation Jormungand was to the climax, with a massive invasion of the Calvard Republic from the newly conquered Erebonian province of Crossbell. In 10 August, it was discovered that the Emperor's assassination attempt was a plan of Osborne to consolidate Erebonia's status as a world power by taking military force, conquering the Calvard Republic, then invading the Autocratic East Europan Imperial Alliance, threatening the balance of power in the region. In 15 August, Governor Regnitz rebelled against Osborne. Members of the Imperial Army of Erebonia, as well as the Railway Military Police were torn into two belligerents, with those staying loyal to Osborne and those transferring loyalties to the Emperor. The Province of Lamarre, along with other Western Erebonian provinces declared their loyalty to the Emperor. The famed Erebonian and Rubrumian Army Corps remained loyal to the Emperor. Early skirmishes broke out in 20 August, with the ERUAC Forces maintaining their hold on the Arseid Viscounty. By September, Osborne launched Operation Jormungand, which was seen as the invasion of the Calvard Republic on all sides. As this was taking place, the Imperial Resistance engaged in bitter skirmishes against Osborne's forces until in January 2019, when the resistance controlled more than 50& of Erebonia. Despite it, Heimdallr remained under Osborne's control. That same month, Marshal Vandyke switched allegiances and negotiated a Status quo ante bellum with both the Calvard Republic and the Liberl Kingdom following Liberl and Calvard's surrender in December 2019, withdrawing the two nations from the ongoing crisis. The Imperial Resistance later attacked Osborne's forces at the Battle of Heimdallr, where Osborne was later killed by operatives of Task Force 141 and cadets of Task Force 142's Thors Military Academy Regiment in Varflame Palace.
Following Osborne's death, minor skirmishes took place. Emperor Eugent Reize Arnor III was reinstated as Emperor while Governor Regnitz was appoint as Prime Minister of the Erebonian Empire through the royal prerogative. Regnitz later declared the end of Erebonia's occupation of the Crossbell State and recognized its independence. The Calvard Republic charges the Erebonian government with liability damaged caused by Osborne's invasion, which was covered by the Erebonian Imperial Family, the Erebonian government, Railway Military Police and the surviving nobility members. Erebonia's Reconstruction came on April 2020, with members of the Lucis Commonwealth sending aid and relief to the Erebonian Empire. The Rubrumian government increased its support and trade with Erebonia during this period, with more than 60% of aid to Erebonia's reconstruction coming from Rubrum.
Despite the war and the crisis plaguing Erebonia's reputation, its place as one of the leading Allied nations and the Big 5 of the Commonwealth remained untarnished.