Almadarian Civil War
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| Almadarian Civil War | |||||||
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     Clockwise from top left:
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Valverdists |
 Democrats | ||||||
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
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50 thousand total casualties 12 thousand refugees outside Almadaria | |||||||
The Almadarian Civil War was a short-lived period of civil war in the former nation of Almadaria which had lasted from 1 October 2036 until 15 March 2037. The conflict is considered to be the prelude to the Central Vallos War, the first major conflict between two Vallosi nations since the invasion and conquest of the Romany Kingdoms from 1748 until 1751 by the Loa Empire, as well as the beginning of the end of Almadaria as an independent nation.
The preceding rebellion which led to the civil war came to as a surprise to the international community as Almadaria had been seen as a rather stable nation, even with its rather tumultuous history with democratisation. Prior to the rebellion in late September of 2036, Almadaria was under the presidency of Arturo Nuñez whom many have attributed to being one of the main causes behind Almadaria's trend towards democratic backsliding as well as the nation's subsequent embracing of statist socially conservative cultural nationalism. This new regime was a large source of tension in Vallos, with many instances of President Nuñez claiming parts of neighbouring countries such as Castadilla, Takatta Loa, and even the entirety of Arona as rightful Almadarian land. In September of 2036, Almadaria experienced a series of terror bombings throughout the country which came with the rise of the Revenant Valverdia Vanguard. These bombings proved to be destablising to the point that armed groups known as "vigilantes" rose up against the Almadarian government and stormed the nation's capital of Piedratorres. This uprising lasted for a few days before the "vigilantes" won and took over Piedratorres and established their own ultranationalist government.
In response to the victory of the ultranationalist Valverdists in Piedratorres, members of the independent opposition during the Nuñez presidency evacuated from the nation's capital to establish a rival democratic government in the south. This democratic government, known as the United Republic of Almadaria, had gained international recognition mostly as very few, if any, nations were willing to recognise the Valverdist government. The Valverdist president Ernesto Allende made a speech on 28 September 2036 which called upon people to engage in open hostilities against the southern democratic government, referring to it as an "anarchy" under the rule of the nation's Tainean and Loa minorities. These calls for open hostilities made it pretty clear that there would be no other way for tensions to end than through armed conflict, and on 1 October 2036 the two rival Almadarian governments declared war on one another with the goal to eliminate the opposing government.
Although the democratic opposition government had initially won the first major battles of the civil war throughout the rest of 2036, they were almost always pyrrhic victories as most of these victories came at a heavy loss of equipment thanks to the effectiveness of the vigilante groups in sabotaging vital communications and supplies which became especially apparent as the armies of the democratic opposition government headed further into Valverdist territory in lesser numbers. Taking advantage of the increasing military weakness of the southern government, the Valverdist government began to order vigilante groups further south with many citizens voluntarily enlisting into these groups; it was clear that popular support outside of the government of the democratic opposition was firmly on the side of the northern ultranationalist government. These groups were immensely successful in conquering territory held by the southern government, and in February 2037 the remaining armed forces of the democratic opposition that have not entered into Valverdist territory would defect to the northern government and join the vigilante groups, prompting the southern government to flee into neighbouring Castadilla with Valverdist president Ernesto Allende declaring victory on 15 March 2037.
Not long after the civil war had ended, the victorious Valverdist government would invade its northern neighbour of Arona and spark the Central Vallosi War which saw not only direct intervention from both Urcea and Castadilla, the latter serving as the main leader of the Vallosi forces against the Valverdists, but also the eventual dissolution of Almadaria as both an independent nation as well as a national concept.
Background
Recent Almadarian history
Since 1963, Almadaria had been undergoing a long and arduous process of democratisation after the fall of the Osmian regime. Initially under the nation's third federal republic, the idea for democratisation involved the establishment of a special committee which would guide Almadaria through a three-step decade-long process known as the "democratic tutelage" in which the citizenry would be taught about both the democratic processes as well as the constitutional values and the fundamental principles of the rule of law. In an effort to prevent a possible fall to dictatorship from happening again, there were also additional checks and balances set up in exchange for preserving the presidential form of government that was put in place. For all intents and purposes, the third presidential republic was intended to serve as the beginning of a new Almadaria; a clean start for the republic which divorced itself from the previous constitutions and governments which were seen as being abysmally inadequate for democratic governance due to their perceived vulnerabilities to democratic backsliding.
The process of "democratic tutelage" would, however, experience some major roadblocks despite numerous national and international observers predicting that this would finally bring Almadaria under the rule of a sincere constitutional republic after over a century. This roadblock came in the form of the department governments which held a lot of power and influence for many years, even during the Osmian regime, and were largely not so keen on allowing the process of "democratic tutelage" to go according to plan when it could spell an end to the long-standing political machinery which had emerged during the first federal republic. These sub-national elites also held power and influence over who got to represent their department on the national level; very few legislators were able to become electable without the support of their department's political machinery. These legislators, being loyal to their departments, were urged by their bosses to engage in very long filibusters and tack on unwanted additions to the "democratic tutelage" process to lengthen it as well as to immensely delay its completion; this was most notably accomplished by adding on asinine historical lessons and exams that were nearly impossible to pass.
Getting tired of the constant delays and additions to the "democratic tutelage" process, Almadaria's provisional president Raul Hernandez, with the advice and support of the justices of the First Court of Almadaria, passed an executive order in 1995 which declared the third federal republic to be dissolved and its constitution rendered to be no longer in effect. The subsequent constitutional convention would borrow heavily from the 1963 constitution, but with a major rewrite of the exact powers of the sub-national divisions of the nation, thus allowing the republic to centralise extensively and to purge the government of the old political elite which had proven themselves to be obstructionistic and not at all supportive of democratisation if it meant that they would be removed from office. Almadaria's first truly democratic election in over fifty years was held that same year with the pro-democracy and christian democratic Social Unity Party (PUS), led by popular political figure Pedro Montillo, winning both the presidential and legislative elections with a clear mandate in favour of the re-democratisation process but this time without the need for a tutelage period nor the fear of departmental obstructionism.
This period of modern Almadarian history, which to historiography is known as the "democratic honeymoon" period, was put to a swift and bitter end in 1998 when President Montillo was embroiled in a massive corruption scandal involving numerous bribes, with some of the earliest instances dating back to the 1970s, which were revealed. To further reverse the fortunes of the pro-democracy groups in Almadaria, the PUS, which was seen as the main leader of the pro-democracy groups in the country, was struck by a series of PUS politicians being indicted for their role during the latter years of the Osmian regime as brutal law enforcement officers as well as the revelation of a slush fund. These scandals, which happened almost at once, were instrumental in both the collapse of the PUS as well as the general public in Almadaria turning against re-democratisation. One of the main anti-democratic opposition groups which stood to gain the most from these scandals was the Valverdian Popular Front (FPV) which was led by Arturo Nuñez whose eight terms would see the country drift back towards democratic backsliding as the government became a statist, socially conservative cultural nationalist regime under the increasing grip of the FPV.
Rise of the Valverdists
In the mid-1970s, a map which depicted western Vallos as it was during the Undecimvirate era was discovered by Diego Hidalgo while going through the estate of his late grandfather Alfonso de Hidaglo. The map, which was long thought to have been lost, showed the Kingdom of Septemontes and its own vassal states around the year 1082. Although mainstream historians have largely agreed that such a find depicted a Caphiric vassal kingdom during its pre-Second Warring States zenith, some people have came up with an alternative. Because both Septemontes and the vassal states were depicted in the same colour, there was a hypothesis that that map did not depict Septemontes, but rather a lost predecessor state to Almadaria known as Valverdia. Supporters of this nascent pseudohistorical concept founded the Revanent Valverdia Vanguard (VVR) which initially started off as an advocacy group that sought to have Valverdia be taught in history classrooms and held no ideological viewpoints other than Almadarian nationalism; the Almadarian government at the time had no interest in having the concept of Valverdia be taught in schools, and most especially not after the concept was soundly debunked by numerous accredited historians.
In reaction to this perceived snubbing by both the Almadarian government and accredited historians, the VVR soon adopted a more populistic approach by directly approaching and appealing to the citizenry with the concept of Valverdia; this approach proved to be much more successful and membership in the VVR steadily increased over the decades. Although still not overtly ideological, the VVR has often been cited as one of the main causes behind government mistrust and the eventual rejection of liberal democracy in Almadaria in the late 1990s. The end of Almadaria's "democratic honeymoon" period and the subsequent beginning of the Nuñez presidency saw some elements of Valverdism being adopted by the Valverdian Popular Front (FPV), albeit in a moderated form in an attempt to assuage fears of a totalitarian dictatorship being established. These elements, however, were seen as being far too watered down in the eyes of many Valverdists, with VVR leader Ernesto Allende deciding to make the VVR more ideological and thus began to write down a manifesto for the group in 2003.
This manifesto, known as On Valverdia and its Hopeful Revival, described Valverdism as being above the political spectrum as it took ideas from what he felt came from both ends of the spectrum. A syncretic political ideology, Valverdism called for a "Valverdian cultural renaissance" through the use of ultranationalism as well as the return of "rightful Valverdian land" which included all of Arona, half of Castadilla, and parts of Takatta Loa. Fearing that organised religion would prove to be a distraction to Valverdia, Valverdism supported state atheism and called for the forced disestablishment of all clerical property in the nation, particularly property owned by the Catholic Church as it saw the Church as having interfered in Almadarian affairs and keeping the nation from achieving greatness. As part of the so-called "cultural renaissance", Valverdism held an extreme form of racial prejudice against the Taineans and the Loa; membership in the VVR was soon limited to only Vallosi people of Occidental ancestry who were not Castadillaan citizens. The new ideological shift for Valverdism, although initially fringe, would grow in popularity over the next three decades as Almadarian citizens began to see President Nuñez as being a weak leader by being far too friendly with the Catholic Church and for not engaging in irredentist conquests against Almadaria's neighbours.
Fall of the Nuñez presidency
Starting in late 2035, both Almadaria and Castadilla had began to enter into a period of some rather tense relations over territorial disputes that had been put to an end decades ago, most notably with Almadaria beginning to attempt to renew its claim over the entirety of the Lake Remenau area. Initially, the VVR was supportive of this new change in foreign policy, hoping that President Nuñez would make an effort to reclaim all of what they had deemed to be rightful Valverdian territory. However, their hopes were dashed rather quickly when Nuñez made it clear that he would only be focused on territories that were once seriously claimed by Almadaria, recognising that the rest of Castadilla would not be under dispute. This would anger the VVR and thus begin their start towards militarism, seeing the Nuñez government as being a puppet of Castadilla. Starting in late September of 2036, the VVR began to launch a series of terror attacks throughout the country much to the applause of the vast majority of Almadarian citizens who had been seeing the VVR as being the only way for Almadaria to become the foremost nation in all of Vallos.
The terror attacks were soon able to destabilise the Nuñez government with numerous citizen militia groups, known as "vigilantes", rising up in support of the terror attacks with many of them marching towards the nation's capital of Piedratorres. As they approached Piedratorres, VVR operatives began to launch a coup d'état against the weakened regime. The coup mostly involved numerous cases of open violence on the streets as well as high-profile cases of descration, the most infamous and internationally well-known instances being the looting and destruction of the Piedratorres Metropolitan Cathedral as well as the Septemontes Royal Palace. The destruction of two major historical landmarks and world heritage sites were met with widespread international condemnation as well as members of the House of Duque who since the 1840s have resided in what is now Castadilla. The coup was nonetheless a success with former President Nuñez being presumed and then confirmed dead during the coup, and members of Almadaria's democratic opposition would begin their evacuation to the southern departments where they would establish a democratic opposition government in opposition to the victorious ultranationalist northern government.
Combatants
Both sides of the civil war had given different reasons for why such a war was needed. For the Valverdists the civil war was seen as determining Almadaria's destiny as either a free country or as a country under perpetual foreign, Catholic occupation. To them, the democratic opposition was nothing more than a faction for foreign interests that wished to greatly limit Almadaria's potential for greatness which many citizens had called for during the latter years of the former Nuñez presidency. The democratic opposition, on the other hand, viewed the war as more of a fight for Almadaria's soul and civility; they had feared that a Valverdist victory would lead the country to ruin as there would be no one who could stop Valverdist leader Allende's constant desire for conquest and the eventual subjugation of Vallos. Both sides at the start of the civil war were mostly unified in their goals, but after 2037 began the democratic opposition began to see the tide of war turn against them after promises that the civil war would be over by Christmas had largely been broken due to sabotage on the part of the Valverdists, and morale would die out when the draft was introduced in areas under the control of the democratic government; Valverdist territories would retain recruitment as voluntary.
Democrats
The democratic opposition was the successor to the pro-democracy political parties and independent opposition which were initially poised to win massively during Almadaria's "democratic honeymoon" period, and it was the government that the international community would recognise and try and give support to. Countries that did not remained strictly neutral for the most part. Some of the most ardent supporters of the democratic government were Almadaria's neighbours in Vallos, taking in Almadarian refugees who were not supportive of the Valverdists. Among the faction's supporters in Almadaria included christian democrats, neoliberals, agrarians, federalists, Taineans, the Loa, moderate nationalists, social democrats, democratic socialists, Marxists, and even anarchists. Members of the Almadarian clergy had urged their parishioners to do what they can to support the democratic cause due to the Valverdists' hostile approach towards the Church.
A return to federalism was also supported by the democratic opposition, mostly so as to guarantee a degree of autonomy for the nation's Tainean and Loa minorities, but also as a way to curtail the power of the central government. However, to keep the problems which had plagued the third federal republic from emerging once again, the degree of autonomy each of the departments had were significantly reduced; internal affairs were up to the departments, but certain responsibilities that were up to the departments in the third federal republic were remanded to the federal government and any powers and responsibilities that were not explicitly stated as being delegated to the departments would be granted to the federal government unless it is decided otherwise to delegate additional powers and responsibilities to the departments. Federalism was mostly supported in opposition to the increasing centralisation of the executive in the person of the President; it was the one policy that all pro-democracy groups had agreed on.
During the first two to three months of the civil war, the Democrats had numerous strategic and tactical advantages against the Valverdists to the point that most analysts had predicted a democratic victory in the civil war by Christmas of 2036. Indeed, most of the early battles in the civil war were won by the Democrats, but after 2037 began the string of victories were proving to be instrumental in turning the tide of the civil war against the democratic opposition because most of those victories came at a tremendous cost to both manpower and equipment due to the sabotaging efforts of the Valverdists. By the last days of the year, most of the democratic forces had defected to the Valverdists and by 15 March 2037 the democratic government had fled to neighbouring Castadilla to avoid capture by the victorious Valverdist government.
Valverdists
The Valverdists were defined by their lack of any other significant faction within their government, effectively giving them a united front without having to do much other than the same spreading of propaganda as they have done for a few decades already by that point. As stated above, the Revenant Valverdist Vanguard was established in the 1970s as a "pseudohistorical society"; they were initially not an explicitly political group, but rather a group that advocated for the teaching of "Valverdia", used to refer to a botched interpretation of the territory shown in a map of western Vallos during the Undecimvirate era, in Almadarian classrooms. The turn towards politics and terrorism, would not happen until after the group' main hypothesis and historical concept pertaining to Valverdia were soundly debunked by accredited historians. Valverdists have seen this moment in their group's history as the point when they realised that the academic community was not going to support much less give their pseudohistorical concept the time nor day, and thus they would have to find another way to garner support.
The solution to the acandemic problem was to take the more populist approach of appealing directly to the masses through the use of popular history. This was done by constructing the narrative that academia has refused to even entertain the idea of Valverdism because they were paid off by the elites who, in the eyes of the Valverdists, were trying to prevent Almadaria from learning about its long-lost past as a great power in the subcontinent; further debunkings were just seen as additional efforts by the elite to quietly suppress Valverdism. This anti-elitist stance would also see the VVR take on an anti-clerical stance as well as the group's biggest non-academic critics were from the Catholic Church which had warned parishioners about the perils of pseudohistory and how it leads to extremism. The VVR, however, would not make a turn towards explicit political leanings until the mid-2000s after Ernesto Allende was made leader of the VVR. An ultranationalist, Allende began to turn Valverdism from a pseudohistorical concept into an ultranationalist militia group with both official militias, and supposedly unofficial "vigilante" militias.
Foreign support
Foreign support for the civil war was entirely limited to sending aid to the democratic opposition government; the only Almadarian government that the international community was really willing to recognise due to the immense stigma that the Valverdist government had garnered due to their extremist and largely omnicidal worldview towards everyone who was not a Valverdist of non-Castadillaan Occidental ancestry. As for why foreign support was entirely limited to sending aid, it was mostly due to no other country wanting to get mired in a conflict in Vallos, and especially when Almadaria's neighbours were much more focused on military build-up out of fears of the civil war spilling over and the "vigilante" militias conducting raids in border settlements.
Timeline of the war
October 2036
In the early days of the civil war period, there were high hopes for a quick ending with the democratic faction coming out on top. Indeed, the democratic government had the superior equipment as well as a strategic and tactical advantage. These advantages were more than enough for the international community, particularly Almadaria's neighbours in Vallos, to recognise and try and help out the democratic government by any means, though direct intervention was largely ruled out out of fears that such a thing may actually backfire and give the Valverdist factions a propaganda victory by showing that the democratic opposition was seemingly nothing more than a tool for the League of Nations to ensure Catholic supremacy over Almadaria. No nation came out in support for the Valverdist government mostly due to its highly anti-clerical and non-sensical ideology that was born out of a blatantly poor interpretation of an 11th Century artifact; at least not when there exists a more sane alternative government which the democratic opposition ran. The exact territory held by the two rival governments were mostly determined by the demographics and which faction held a monopoly over sovereignty; the Valverdist north were almost entirely populated by Occidental-descended people who stood to benefit greatly from a Valverdist while the democratic south were mostly populated by visible minority groups who would suffer under Valverdist rule.
In the Valverdist-controlled territories in northern Almadaria, there numerous instances of Valverdist "vigilantes" moving from town to town to loot and vandalise landmarks that were deemed to be anti-Valverdist as well as rounding up civilians who were suspected of holding anti-Valverdist sentiment before forcing them into transports where they were to be "re-educated" in what has often been described as "torture prisons". This was often taken advantage of by people who were looking to secure their own personal vendettas against long-standing rivals and even entire families were forcibly split apart with minors being adopted by "loyal couples" while adult family members were sent tp the "torture prisons". According to studies done by the Imperial Commission on West Vallos, about 100-150 thousand civilians in Almadaria were forced into these "torture prisons" and approximately 30 thousand civilians died in connection to them whether through suicide or through being subjected to near-unending torture and abuse. This kind of practice was commonplace not only during the civil war, but also during the years of the Central Vallosi War; all Valverdist "torture prisons" were shut down after the fall of Almadaria in 204X.
Both countries were under provisional governments at this time, with the Valverdists initially continuing the presidential system, albeit with the vice president serving an exclusively advisory role; the last vestiges of the presidential system would be dissolved completely sometime in November with Valverdist leader Allende taking on a more centralised and totalitarian rule over his government. The democratic opposition, however, was governed by a coalition council of leaders of various pro-democracy political parties with the president serving a first among equals role; the council was designed to be temporary pending the victory of the democratic government in the civil war.
November 2036
The initial confidence in a Christmastime victory for the democrats remained strong with democratic forces consistently winning battles seemingly decisively. Bolstered by these victories, the governing council of the democratic faction began preparations to hold an election in early December, making it the first free and fair election to be held in Almadaria since the elections held in 2000. Democratic movement into Vavlerdist territory was also happening very significantly with foreign nationals who were trapped in Valverdist territory finally being able to return to their respective home countries; the most notable instance being the extraction and repatriation of two Faneria-flagged cargo vessels as well as Fanerian citizens who were stranded as a result of the civil war which further cemented international confidence that the democratic opposition would win the civil war and put an end to the ultranationalists. There were also talks underway about the possibility of the democratic government attaining observer status within the Vallosi Economic Association as well as consideration for an eventual membership application into the VEA; Almadaria had historically been against the idea of joining the VEA mostly due to its initial association with the Estado Social regime in Castadilla, and was not until the "democratic honeymoon" period of the mid-to-late 1990s when VEA membership was beginning to be seriously pursued by numerous pro-democracy political parties.
For the Valverdists, the provisional presidential system was dissolved due to concerns that not having a centralised executive was proving to be a major handicap for President Allende's control over the country as well as his command over the Valverdist forces. It was also during the dissolution of the presidential system that Allende would hold a speech urging all "patriotic Valverdians" to rise up and frustrate the actions of the "Catholic menace" in the south through direct action. Additional "vigilante" militias would emerge as a result of this speech, ready to die for what they thought was the very soul of the nation that was seemingly under siege by outside interests. These new militias were noted to be more violent than the initial militias, and were much more willing to engage in acts of sabotage against the democratic forces. These acts were highly instrumental in turning democratic victories into pyrrhic victories to greatly dampen the morale of soldiers in the democratic forces. To further lower morale and in hopes of encouraging defection captured soldiers were subjected to a series of rewards and punishments with the idea of converting them to Valverdism; successful cases were to be recorded declaring their support to President Allende and to Valverdia and copies of said recording were to be dispersed in territories expected to have movement from democratic forces.
These actions during this time were of limited success, however, especially as much of the captured soldiers would wind up fleeing capture and returning to the democratic forces. It was immensely difficult for the Valverdists to turn the tide of war when the democratic opposition government was clearly winning. Nonetheless, the sabotages were still successful in slowing down democratic advances by forcing them to focus on repairing damaged equipment instead of furthering the advance which gave Valverdist forces more time to recuperate and to improve their attacks against democratic forces. This would be the last month in which democratic forces remained confident in defeating the Valverdists; from December onward they would experience a reversal of fortune that would lead to their eventual defeat.
December 2036
The advances made by the democratic opposition during the past two months were starting to stagnate during the first half of the month. The constant sabotage tactics from Valverdist forces were starting to take a toll on the performance and overall morale of the democratic forces. This became especially apparent when the most significant democratic victory during December only resulted in the nascent Valverdist advances stagnating rather than outright retreating. Further democratic campaigns were far less successful, often resulting in masses of soldiers in the democratic forces deserting as it was becoming increasingly obvious that the Christmastime victory that was initially touted in previous months was becoming less and less likely to happen. These desertions were often very detrimental to the war effort of the democratic government that the governing council had to pass emergency laws which forbade soldiers from deserting, often with pretty severe punishments which often included an immediate stripping of all ranks above that of a third-class private (the lowest rank in most Vallosi armed forces) and even the possibility of a dishonourable discharge if the desertion was considered severe enough.
The tide of war would not officially begin to turn against the democratic government until the second half of December when democratic advances were slowly starting to be pushed back by Valverdist forces. The elections that were promised to be held in the democratic government had been delayed and did not start until 18 December, and by then the voter turnout for that election was considered to be one of the lowest in Vallosi history, at a 35.7% of the eligible voting population; citizens who were greatly dissatisfied with the recent reversal of fortune have opted not to vote out of disappointment and citizens in democratic territory who supported the Valverdists anyway refused to vote and protested the elections as illegitimate. Nonetheless, the election results gave the moderate liberal Civic National Party a slim majority in the legislature as well as giving provisional President Cesar Estevez his first term as an elected President. It would be the last election to be held in Almadaria as an independent country, with it resulting in a divisive result that led to people who once supported the democratic government either fleeing to neighbouring countries or joining the Valverdists.
In celebration of the tide of war turning in their favour, the Valverdists began to hold "Valverdist festivals" in cities that were under Valverdist control, celebrating both the supposedly lost Valverdian culture as well as the triumph of the will of the "real rulers of Vallos" against the "pro-clerical menace" of the "anti-Almadaria". The primary purpose of these festivals were not to serve as propaganda towards citizens living in Valverdist territory, but rather it was meant for soldiers fighting in democratic forces; the idea was to bombard the democratic forces with constant propaganda about the supposed benefits of a Valverdist Almadaria, with the understanding that there are a sizeable amount of democratic soldiers that were starting to consider desertion altogether. Valverdist propagandists had hoped that these festivals would be enough to finally start convincing soldiers that desertion or even outright defection to the Valverdists would be a good idea. Initial results for this were slow, but promising in its effectiveness however.
January 2037
With Christmas having come and gone and with there being no end in sight for the civil war, overall international confidence in a democratic victory was beginning to wane considerably, with deserters becoming more and more commonplace, often with entire divisions being deserted as anti-democratic sentiment began to emerge amongst the ranks of the democratic forces. This new sentiment would be a major factor in an eventual anti-war protest being held in the democratic government's provisional capital of El Companario which called for an immediate end to the war and for a supposed "dual-Almadaria solution" to be implemented wherein Almadaria would be a confederation of two highly independent Almadarian states which would each be governed by the respective civil war governments; the confederation was touted as being a "unity government" in which both Valverdists and Democrats could co-exist. The democratic government would unanimously reject this, fearing that giving a Valverdists a legitimate government of any form would be more than enough to undermine the democratic government; either the Valverdists were going to be taken down for good, or the democratic government was going to have to flee Almadaria and continue the fight for Almadarian democracy from a safer area.
Seizing an opportunity to score yet another propaganda victory, the Valverdist government would declare support for the "dual-Almadaria solution", promising that they were not interested in further conflict and that they had no interest in undermining the democratic government should such a proposal be implemented. By framing themselves as supposedly being willing to negotiate, they were able to convince anti-war Democrats that the democratic government did not care to maintain peace in Vallos, and that the Valverdist government will soon be left with no other choice but to defeat the democratic government just so there would be no more wars. Historiographers since the end of the Central Vallosi War were quick to point out the irony of such a war-mongering, totalitarian, ultranationalist government trying to fabricate the narrative of supposedly being peaceful when they would soon invade Arona just months after the fall of the democratic government in 15 March 2037. Indeed, the fact that the Valverdist government came to be through a violent coup was more than enough to make most of the international community, and particularly Almadaria's neighbours, highly skeptical that the Valverdist government would remain peaceful with many of them beginning military build-ups in the event that the Valverdists attempt to invade any of them.
By the end of January the frontlines for both factions have largely returned to the starting frontlines from the beginning of the civil war, save for some minor Valverdist advances into territory that were initially under democratic control back then. The overall unity of the democratic government was also quickly falling apart with even politicians beginning to resign and establishing a government-in-exile before fleeing to neighbouring Castadilla for safety. It was considered the beginning of the end for the civil war and for the democratic government in general.
February 2037
In February, the war effort for the democratic government was beginning to deteriorate in earnest as the initial slow Valverdist advances were starting to pick up speed. For most of the citizenry, who just months ago were very hopeful and often even confident that a democratic victory was quick, they were starting to see the merits of a Valverdist government if it meant that the war could end and they could go back to their lives as they were before. As a result of the sudden rise in war exhaustion, public support for the democratic opposition was quickly evaporating with further calls to end the war immediately and enter into negotiations with the Valverdists. As these calls were becoming more and more frequent so too did the amount of politicians fleeing the country to join the government-in-exile, fearing the inevitable defeat at the hands of the ultranationalists as well as the likely consequences of such a defeat. The lands held by the democratic government were now becoming more and more ungovernable with numerous communities near the front lines deciding to simply declare their loyalty to the Valverdist government without any bloodshed.
The biggest event for the Valverdists was when the entirety of the democratic forces, save for those that were in lands held by the democratic government that were not close the frontlines, defected en masse to the Valverdists which greatly tilted the Valverdist's already good odds of winning the civil war even further in their favour; now that there was no more considerable opposition to Valverdist advances, the ultranationalist forces were able to make very fast gains into democratic territory, with most citizens welcoming them with open arms. Minority groups, most notably the Taineans and the Loa who have mostly resided in the southern half of Almadaria, would begin to evacuate the country and head towards neighbouring countries in an effort to escape possible persecution from either the "vigilante" militias or from the Valverdist government itself; many of these refugees would often attempt to migrate to a country that was closely aligned to their culture the most. A sizeable portion of Almadarian Taineans preferred migrating to Arona as Castadillaan Taineans held significantly different religious beliefs and traditions from the more seemingly authentic Aronese Taineans, yet another sizeable portion were content with living in Castadilla; it ultimately depended on if they were Occidentalised significantly or have held onto cultural traditions very tightly.
By the end of February, the remaining territory held by the democratic government was concentrated in the southeast regions which bordered Castadilla and Takatta Loa, and it quickly coming under Valverdist control with each passing day. Almadaria's neighbours were now starting to intensify military build-up as they were getting ready for an ultranationalist victory, and they had no desire to be invaded in the near future when there was still a good chance that the victorious Valverdist government would either collapse on its own due to there being no more wars to fight or moderate their worst aspects and become something more akin to the former Nuñez regime albeit with a much stronger nationalistic overtone.
March 2037
The civil war came to a close during its final two weeks leading up to 15 March; the effectiveness of the democratic forces have all but dwindled far from its effectiveness back in the early weeks of the civil war. As such, the democratic government began to make preparations to flee Almadaria for neighbouring Castadilla to join the government-in-exile which has been located in that country since January. Despite this, however, much of the international community continued to recognise the democratic government and then its subsequent government-in-exile once the civil war government dissolved itself. The dissolution of the democratic government is often said to be the end of the civil war as there was no significant enough force that could effectively oppose the Valverdist forces. The remaining democratic forces at this time was limited to members of Almadaria's visible minority groups which had began to form guerilla bands to continue waging war against the Valverdist government with implicit backing from both the democratic government-in-exile in Castadilla and from the Castadillaan government as resistance groups against the victorious ultranationalist government.
It was not until 15 March, however, when Valverdist president Ernesto Allende would officially declare victory in the civil war once it was clear that there would be no more significant resistance from the now-exiled democratic government. In the aftermath of the victory, the "vigilante" militias celebrated by raiding multiple areas in Almadaria to either loot or take away "undesirables"; these raids were officially sanctioned by the Vlaverdist government as a way to consolidate its control over Almadaria. People who were not loyal to the government were forced to pay hefty "taxes" to the militias in exchange for them not looting their households. This was largely seen by international observers as a form of harsh reprisals against anyone who had opposed the Valverdists and had yet to flee the country, with Almadaria's neighbours officially condemning the actions of the militias and the Valverdist government's acceptance of such actions, with the membership of the Vallosi Economic Association voting unanimously to implement harsh sanctions against Almadaria.
Consequences
Refugees
The Almadarian Civil War had resulted on of the biggest refugee crises in modern Vallosi history; throughout the war approximately twelve thousand people were displaced as a result of the war, but after the war the amount of refugees, primarily from the nation's Tainean and Loa minorities, had increased to about one million in the months leading up to the start of the Central Vallosi War. The final amount of Almadarian citizens that had become refugees as a result of the Valverdist regime had been published in the Imperial Commission on West Vallos which also included a demographic breakdown those who have fled on their own or with their families as well as the ethnic groups represented amongst the displaced diaspora. For the Tainean and Loa refugees, all of them have fled Almadaria due to fears of persecution by the Valverdist government. For the refugees that were of Occidental ancestry, their reasons are generally much more varied, with holding significant political differences from the Valverdists being one of the primary reasons for displacement.
Valverdist atrocities
One of the first acts done by the Valverdist government since its victory over the democratic opposition was to have the "vigilante" militias conduct raids against every single community in the country. The main purpose behind those raids, asides from consolidating control and to instill fear over the nation's most ardent opponents, was to serve as a purge of all elements of any forms of opposition against the victorious ultranationalist government. All of these raids have resulted in both deaths and forced transportations to "reeducation camps". Minority groups and figures and structures associated with the Catholic Church were also targeted due to both an immense Valverdist hatred towards any foreign figures as well as fears of foreign influence undermining the regime. Violent acts against the Catholic Church have led to numerous instances of churches across the country being looted and subsequently destroyed. Among the biggest losses was when a "vigilante" militia had set fire to the historic Avevalles Basilica, Almadaria's oldest cathedral building and the main seat for the Primate of Almadaria (now Primate of West Castadilla) who was the nation's main religious head. The basilica would lay in ruins throughout the Central Vallosi War until repairs could finally begin under Castadillaan rule after the war.
The exact extent of these atrocities would not be known until the Imperial Commission on West Vallos published their findings in 204X under conducting a thorough survey on the damages and suffering caused by the Valverdist government. These results were published and copies were sent to the former Almadarian citizenry as part of an occupation and integration programme to educate them on the destruction that they have supported and the suffering they have allowed to happen and how the Almadarian identity needs to go if the former citizenry is to rejoin the Occidental world and participate in it cordially and without menace or malice. The Valverdist atrocities are regularly taught in schools across Vallos to serve as a reminder that such actions should never be allowed to repeat, and especially not in such a scale.
International relations
Almadaria's international relations began to deteriorate significantly after the Valverdists won the civil war; the regime's immediate neighbours were preparing for the seeming inevitability of a conflict between the ultranationalist regime and any one of them. As a result, none of the Vallosi nations, let alone most of the international community in general, were willing to establish a diplomatic mission to the Valverdist government in Almadaria. Even Lucrecia, which had held a long-standing policy on diplomatic neutrality, refused to recognise the Valverdist government, citing its blatant disregard for human rights and the overall threat it was posing to the entire subcontinent in general. Another significant consequence of the Valverdists' victory in the civil war was the formation of the Vallosi Defense Commission, the primary defense agency for the Vallosi Economic Association designed to coordinate between the armed forces of the VEA's member states; this also began the transition of the VEA from a loose economic partnership to a supranational political and economic union similar to the Levantine Union.
The democratic government-in-exile, on the other hand, received international recognition as the legitimate government of Almadaria and thus was the government represented in the League of Nations while the Valverdist government was given the status of rogue state. The existence of the democratic government-in-exile would be short-lived as it would eventually hold a referendum during the Central Vallosi War in which only Almadarian expats were permitted to vote in which asked whether the democratic government-in-exile should dissolve in favour of uniting with the Castadillaan government which included Castadilla inheriting any and all territory that the democratic opposition considered to be rightful Almadaria territory; this meaning all the lands that were under Almadarian governance prior to the Valverdist uprising as well as Almadaria's dormant claims over Castadillaan territory. The referendum, which was observed by officials from Alstin, was deemed to be legitimate and the results indicated that the "Yes" option carried by a wide margin, and Almadaria was officially declared to be united with Castadilla, with all lands held by the Valverdist government being recategorised as being lands under active rebellion against the Castadillaan state. The democratic government-in-exile would be replaced by a Castadillaan occupation authority tasked with ensuring the eventual pacification and integration of the former Almadarian territories into Castadilla once the war was over.
Central Vallosi War
The most significant consequence of the Almadarian Civil War, particularly in regards to the victory of the Valverdists over the exiled democratic opposition, was the Central Vallosi War which was the first major Vallosi conflict since the skirmishes of the colonial era. The war began just months after the ended of the civil war while the Valverdist government was at the zenith of its popularity and power projection. Wanting to score a seemingly easy victory, the Valverdist government invaded and conquered Arona as part of its long-term plans to achieve what all Valverdists thought was the nation's rightful place as the hegemon of Vallos as well as because of the belief that none of its neighbours would try and intervene on behalf of Arona. Although successful in conquering Arona, the event resulted in not only mass condemnations from almost the entirety of the international community, it also resulted in the formation of an international coalition by Urcea, as Arona is its protectorate, and led by Castadilla, having hosted the government-in-exile and due to the nation sharing almost all of its western border with Almadaria thus giving it the strategic advantage.
This international coalition force began its counterattack on Almadaria. Although the guerilla warfare and lightning-speed tactics were good at ensuring a quick conquest of Arona, these strategies were simply not sustainable against the forces of much more well-established nations with much more stable governments. For Castadilla, the war would soon change from a war of liberating Arona to a war of liberating the territories of West Vallos which had become a rightful part of Castadilla after the democratic government-in-exile dissolved itself after an expats' referendum approved the unification of Almadaria with Castadilla. Much of the direct international involvement in the conflict would end once Arona was liberated from Valverdist control. However, the Castadillaan government, wanting to put an end to the very concept of an Almadarian nation due to it having become closely entwined with ultranatinoalist totalitarianism as well as to prevent any further attempts at disturbing the overall peace and harmony of the subcontinent, continued its advance into Almadarian territory which had picked up speed after Castadillaan forces involved in liberating Arona began to head south into Almardaria.
The last of the Valverdist forces were defeated in 204X, and the last of the Valverdist territories were placed under Castadillaan occupation shortly thereafter. Once the Central Vallosi War had ended, the lands of former Almadaria, which are now known as West Vallos, were placed under the jurisdiction of the Castadillaan Imperial Armed Forces until the remaining "vigilante" militias have been pacified. With the militias defeated, the lands were then placed under a provisional civilian administration led by officials from the People's Democratic Party as part of a "political tutelage" period in which the former Almadarians would be taught about the constitutional rule of law in Castadilla as well as the fundamental principles of socialist parliamentary democracy. It would not be until after the "political tutelage" period had ended that the former Almadarian lands would be placed under constitutional government with new states established in place of the former departments.
See also
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