User:Meriad/EWII

EWII text as of 11/3/17 (pre-blanking)

The Second Endwar (often abbreviated to EWII or EW2) was a in Ordis that lasted from 1936 to 1947. It involved a majority of the world's nations, wherein most global powers were divided into three major factions: the Thalassic Sphere, the Tartar-Neptic Alliance and the Comintern. Most of the nations involved entered a period of "" in which all economic, industrial, scientific and military capabilities were put behind the. This erased many of the distinctions between military and civilian targets, leading to the deaths of millions of civilians and the total destruction of several thousand square kilometers of land.

Transoxthraxia
In the early twentieth century, Transoxthraxia's absolute monarchy had fallen under a number of weak or apathetic rulers, who were more than content to let the country run itself rather than to take a hands-on approach to the ruling of their nation. At the same time, the Transoxthraxian populace was undergoing a political revolution that was brought upon by the rapid industrialization of Transoxthraxia in the late nineteenth century. New political and social ideas, specifically those of nationalism and jingoism, began to weed their ways into the minds of the populace, and more importantly, the minds of those that ran the country for the hands-off af Violta monarchs. The result was an increasingly radicalized state that had the support of an equally radicalized populace, and the booming economy of a recently-industrialized power.

As the social policies of the Transoxthraxian administration became more and more extreme, the former council of advisers and administrators who ran the nation in the de facto sense of the word became known as the Iron Ring due to the semi-political social organization that had been founded of the same name, to which the entire council belonged. Although having stayed neutral in the first Endwar, the Iron Ring had developed Transoxthraxia's military to an extreme degree, dragging what was considered one of the most archaic armies on the continent into military modernization, and thus an extremely powerful one, despite being smaller than their Northern neighbour's. By the year 1918, Transoxthraxia was openly promoting imperialism and the proponent of foreign nationalism, that is to say encouraging foreign Transoxthraxian populations to align themselves with the Kingdom and to discard their other nation's in favour of Transoxthraxia.

In 1919, however, disaster struck as the former monarch Iaason II, retroactively referred to as "the weak", passed away without any children except his five-year-old daughter, Felicia. The Iron Ring knew that the crown would instead pass to Iaason's nephew on his sister's side, not only ending the af Violta ascendancy, but also putting the throne in the hands of a centrist monarchic reactionary, surely meaning the end of the Iron Ring's political power. The would-be Skawm II, Iaason II's nephew, was arrested by the Transoxthraxian Secret Police on his way to his coronation in Vounomethea without any specified charges, and the infant Felicia was then crowned as Felicia I af Violta, giving the Iron Ring free reign as the child's regency. During the next decade, the Transoxthraxian nation geared up for war, spurred on by the Iron Ring's nationalization of the Arms Manufacturing industry and the instatement of conscription.

During this time, ironically, the Iron Ring assumed that the eventual war would be waged against Kolintha, not with them.

Rise of Kachanism and Kolish Pre-War Expansion
The First Endwar in Kolintha saw the once great Empire finally succumb to the internal ethnic and nationalistic tensions that had been threatening to tear it apart since the late 19th century. The war years had been especially harsh on the colonies, and the political crisis that engulfed the central establishment after the peace agreement allowed revolutionary and reactionary groups to take control in areas where government power had weakened. As a result, the political crisis in the homeland soon became a civil war, with warlords of all Imperial nationalities jostling for influence. Nerotysia was the first of the Imperial States to break off, in 1921, forming a union of socialist republics on the Nerotysian peninsula. More remote Kolish holdings were also snatched away by rival colonial powers in the wake of the Endwar, while others became de-facto independent states or fought for independence much like the Nerotysians.

The Imperial family itself was divided as two rival claimants from different branches of the family fought for supremacy after the assassination of the Kolish Empress at the outbreak of the political crisis. This split was eventually healed when Vyelitma Kachan, a General of the Imperial Army, took power in the capital, summoned both claimants for peace talks, and had one of them shot, crowning the other claimant as Empress Vazhetova. Kachan was then appointed as Konzhun of Kolintha by the new Empress, and Kolintha itself became a military dictatorship, which proceeded to reabsorb most of it's core territories, and make peace with the rest, ending the civil war in 1923.

Even after the war had passed however, the transitional regime Kachan had installed did not go away in favour of the old system; instead, Kachan increased her own power through manipulation of the Imperial throne, and violent crackdowns against political opponents, such as the Friday Massacre which was used as a pretext to permanently dissolve the Imperial Diet, and the Ylgo Purge, where over a thousand Army officers were arrested and executed without trial. The Regime also targeted ethnic and religious minorities, particularly Christians, Nordics, Vioskans and Slavs. At first, such groups were only discriminated against through boycotts and State-sponsored harassment, but once it was realised that such treatment would not force them to vacate the country, undesirables began to be deported or imprisoned.

Public sentiment was surprisingly positive towards Kachan, as many Kols viewed her as a saviour who had rescued the nation from squabbling bureaucrats, and normal citizens assisted in regime-led operations against 'invaders of the homeland' through pogroms and even lynching on occasion. Kachanism became a political movement, celebrating the Kolish race over all others, and creating cults of personality around both the Empress and the Konzhun. The Kolish military meanwhile, over the space of just under a decade, was modernized and reformed, to fit the Konzhun's ambitions of grand wars of expansion. It was also thoroughly purged of political opponents, who were replaced by younger, more loyal Kachanists.

In early 1936, a failed socialist coup occurred in Palaska, prompting Vyelitma Kachan to covertly threaten the Palaskan leadership into welcoming a Kolish peace keeping force, in reality an occupation army, into the country. This move alarmed Palaska's neighbours, Meriad and Belhalia. Tensions with the former were particularly heightened, as Kolintha's persecution of it's large Nordic minority had forced the Meriadni government to make several condemnations of the regime, as well as the lack of settlement of issues regarding the imprisonment and deportation of Meriadni nationals the previous year.

Fascist Government in New Spanishland
Gerardo VIII was crowned monarch of New Spanishland on the 17th of May, 1886; during his reign the lack of political representation for many major social groups and the poor situation of the working classes, especially farmers and industrial workers, led to political unrest that would encourage a national strike in 1902, a string of assassination attempts against Imperial politicians in 1922 and finally, a coup against the Imperial government in 1932 by Major General Eutanasio Rodriguez Ugarte, which was a success. The monarchy went into exile in Khornera as a result.

After the uprising, General Eutanasio and his top brass took full control of the country and its colonies; and on the 20th of August, founded the New State. What followed was a period in which Eutanasio's party, the 'National Union', consolidated it's power over the populace. Opposition parties were the first to be outlawed, and political undesirables such as communists and trade unionists were hunted down and arrested by the new secret police force: the Unitarian Legion. An official junior branch of the National Union, the Golden Youth, was also created, and membership quickly became mandatory for all young people. Economic reforms were also carried out, with the Party reorganizing workers and businesses into a complex system of state-run corporations and workers unions. While in theory, such reforms were carried out for the good of the working class, in reality the regime used the system to gain a tighter grip over it's industrial capacity, allowing it to divert more resources towards rebuilding and re-equipping the Spanishlandic Army, which had been weakened by decades of political strife, and casualties sustained fighting alongside the Khornerans in the First Endwar.

Despite being a clear example of a fascist regime, and the term 'fascist' itself originally arising within the client states of the Spanishlandic Empire in the early 20th century, the New State leaders avoided using the term, as Eutanasio, and the regime's Prime Minister, Alberto Olivera, preferred to use rhetoric that appealed to the country's large population of ; and by the time of the coup in New Spanishland, the label of fascist had been applied by the international community to several other regimes, mostly ones with strong ties to polytheism and 'paganism', such as the late Faldarunic Empire, the Kolish Empire under the Kachanists, and to Transoxthraxia under the Iron Ring.

War breaks out in Escar (1936-37)
On July 16th of 1936, the Kolish government issued an ultimatum to the Meriadni government, claiming sovereignty over most of Sydilströp, and threatening war if the terms were not accepted. King Fredrik, the reigning Meriadni monarch, unconditionally rejected this offer, and publicly condemned the Kolish government for its actions. The Kachanist government took this refusal as a de-facto declaration of war and on August 1st of 1936, the Kolish military launched a massive ground offensive across the southern Meriadni border, capturing Súdurfjördur in under 72 hours. Two amphibious landings followed in the next three days, leading to the Kolish occupation of the Meriadni capital of Járnfjördur and largest city of Duvnafjördur. Resistance in these last two cases was sparse, as civilians and military personnel alike were urged by the Meriadni Prime Minister, Gudmund Rendahl, to retreat to the mountains and continue resistance against the Kolish occupation.

In response to this resistance, the Kolish occupation authority responsible for the captured parts of Meriad, known as the General Government, carried out regular public executions of dissidents in the occupied cities, enforced strict curfews, and authorized the burning of rural villages found to be supplying rebels. Meanwhile, Meriadni citizens who were physically fit and did not collaborate with the General Government or join the resistance were rounded up and forced to work for the State, or for Kolish industrial firms, for wages that barely allowed them to sustain themselves, much less their families. Some were also taken directly to Kolintha, where they worked for free, as part of the Kachanist system of.

What remained of the Meriadni government, including much of the Royal Navy, relocated to Eyjanfjalla, from which they continued to operate throughout the war, despite repeated Kolish attempts at wiping them out or forcing them to surrender. The government, technically in exile on it's own territory, did it's best to keep up the spirits of the Meriadni rebels and undermine the Kolish, through the production of propaganda and the placement of saboteurs in the industrial centres of occupied Meriad. The Meriadni Aerial Forces, operating extensively from bases in Hjerteskog, also conducted periodic air raids on Kolish forces and supply lines until 1941, when the majority of its aircraft were destroyed in a series of Kolish raids.

After the success of Meriad, the Imperial Army was once again pointed towards a target; Belhalia, Meriad's southern neighbour, where many Meriadni partisans had established a foothold, and where several smaller Escari states had already discussed the possibility of a coalition to guard against Kolish aggression. On the 12th of November, 1936, Kolish airborne and glider troops landed behind Belhalian defensive lines along the Palaskan border, and quickly secured several strongholds, taking the garrisons by surprise. This made work easy for the armoured divisions, which launched an assault the very next day, exploiting the gaps in the line provided by the airborne assaults. Much of the Belhalian leadership, having hoped to make a stand at the border and hopefully delay the Kolish long enough for the militia and allied armies to be deployed, were taken by surprise when reports came in of tanks and infantry fighting their way towards the capital. Belhalia would surrender on the 8th of December, the same day that the Kolish Empire formally annexed Palaska and executed most of it's government officials. Both territories were incorporated into the General Government alongside Meriad in early January.

Transoxthraxia [INSERT STUFF HERE]

Blockade of Duvnafjördur Sound
In June of 1942, a small number of Meriadni Royal Navy vessels and submarines, in conjunction with numerous aircraft, successfully managed to blockade the Kolish-occupied Duvnafjördur Sound for a period of twenty-eight days, stretching between June 3rd to July 1st. While this blockade led to the destruction of three Royal Navy surface vessels and the eventual destruction of much of the Aerial Forces' remaining aircraft, it caused a massive boost in the morale of the Meriadni resistance, and proved to be a major embarrassment for the Kolish occupation force. This embarrassment was worsened by the fact that the Kolish navy made three consecutive attempts at breaching the blockade, all unsuccessful, before managing to destroy the majority of the Meriadni surface vessels. This action led to the destruction of nine Kolish naval vessels and significant damage to four more, and marked the first major strategic victory for the Meriandi resistance.

Transoxthraxia
Following the failed Second Invasion of Rhodisar, the disastrous Western Escar Campaign, and the subsequent rout of the Royal Transoxthraxian Army across the Western and Central portions of Escar, Transoxthraxian manpower had been seriously diminished, especially in contrast to their opponents, who, combined, had more than ten times the population of Transoxthraxia. Starting in the middle of 1946, Transoxthraxian High Command drafted the Kollaz Contingency, which prepared Transoxthraxia for a massive defensive theatre across the entire nation, with every able-bodied male between the ages of twelve and seventy being drafted into the army.

The plan essentially reorganized the remnants of the Royal Transoxthraxian Army into three Army Groups: North, South, and East. Army Groups North and South would perform delay operations against the Comintern and Sphere armies, North fighting the Comintern in Western and Northern Transoxthraxia, and South fighting the Sphere in Southern Transoxthraxia. Army Group East would fortify and prepare the easily-defensible Transoxthraxian Heartland for an extended campaign of attrition. Army Groups North and South were thus effectively conducting delay operations on a massive scale as Army Group East fortified and dug into the thick swamps and mangroves of Eastern Transoxthraxia, which held the capital and the key to Transoxthraxia's surrender.

The Kollaz Contingency required both Army Group North and South to fend off their respective adversaries for six months, something that even the most skilled, loyal and dedicated officers of the Royal Transoxthraxian Army doubted to be possible. By October 1946, the first Khorneran forces had crossed into Transoxthraxia, and clashed with elements of Army Group South, which primarily consisted of veterans of the Rhodisar Campaigns as well as the earlier invasion Haeva, at the Battle of Tarnavi in South Transoxthraxia. Surprised to find the first determined resistance by Transoxthraxian forces since January of the same year, the Khorneran army was initially effectively slowed by Army Group South as the majority of the Khorneran Army was brought to bear against the significantly outnumbered Army Group South. By early March, Army Group South had witnessed nearly a 70% casualty rate, most likely fueled by their lack of ammunition and their aristocratic leader, Major General Zkahm II P. af Daraugaulidas, who maintained the policies of "no retreat" and "death before surrender". By April, Army Group South was nothing more than a few scattered, disorganized, and disunited divisions fighting, not for defense, but for survival. By May, the Khorneran Army had occupied the majority of South and Central Transoxthraxia, but were unable to penetrate into the Transoxthraxian Heartland.

Army Group North, consisting of the most experienced combat units within the Transoxthraxian Army and under the leadership of Honourable Major General (Hon. Maj. Gen.) Iaason Madaras, considered to be one of the most brilliant military men of the time, first clashed with Nerotysian forces at the far-Western reaches of Transoxthraxia in November 1946. Madaras' Defense-in-Depth yielded extremely effective results, temporarily pushing Nerotysian forces out of Transoxthraxia despite their numerical and logistical superiority and most famously encircling and shattering a trio of Nerotysian mechanized divisions in January of 1947. However, with the collapse of Army Group South in February, Madaras was forced to retreat from Western Transoxthraxia in order to avoid getting encircled in an extremely unfavourable defensive position, the floodplains of Western Transoxthraxia affording attackers incredible movement. Madaras instead reformed a defensive position in the foothills and mountains of the Milzas Range, attempting once, unsuccessfully, to breach Khorneran lines and break through to the Transoxthraxian Heartland. With the encirclement of Army Group North and the shattering of Army Group South, Nerotysia and Khornera had effectively occupied two-thirds of the country. Only Army Group East remained combat-effective, and were, in a number of instances, able to drive off massive, well-organized Khorneran offensives into Transoxthraxia's swamplands.

Khornera's army, unable or unwilling to accept the dozens of issues of fighting to the Transoxthraxian capital, devised another way to take the city; an amphibious invasion.

The Battle of the Bay of Cannibals
The Battle of the Bay of Cannibals was the first phase in the planned Khorneran amphibious invasion of Vounomethea. The Bay of Cannibals is the name for the bay that feeds into Transoxthraxia's harbour, and since the Royal Transoxthraxian Navy's defeat in the waters around Rhodisar in 1945, the remnants of the RTN had been docked in the bay, protecting the capital from a potential amphibious invasion. Despite the former prominence of the Transoxthraxian Navy during the early parts of EW-II, the navy consisted only of three capital ships and nine screening groups, among the former group the HMRTNS Ahkhilleas, one of the biggest battleships ever constructed and the flagship of Transoxthraxia, which had made a name for itself during the Battle of Rhodisar's Coast by sinking a half-dozen major enemy ships during its covering of the evacuating Transoxthraxian Army. Along with the Ahkhilleas there was also the HMRTNS' Aigudas, the final Transoxthraxian aircraft carrier; Miarzkaur Zpaki, a Battlecruiser; Ashauzmaz, the heavy cruiser that accidentally ran into the entire Khorneran navy and lived; as well as various other light cruisers, frigates, destroyers, and corvettes.