History of Urcea (1902-1955)

The History of Urcea from 1902 to 1955 consists of the time period between the restoration of House de Weluta in 1902 and the formation of the League of Nations in 1955 specifically but more generally the end of the Great War and beginning of the Occidental Cold War. This period was characterized by Urcea's participation in Levantine affairs for the first time since the end of the Second Caroline War, culminating in its participation in the Great War from 1927 to 1953. During this period, Urcea became a globally recognized superpower. The first several decades of this period saw Urcea in a period of reconstruction following the Red Interregnum, while the remainder of it was consumed with the nation's involvement in the Great War.

Restoration

King Patrick III assumed command over a broken nation; the organs of the Constitution of Urcea were non-functioning (the "Concilium Daoni" convened at gunpoint was of dubious legality), the landscape was torn apart, and the national economy was disrupted. The King ruled over the Kingdom with an absolute level of authority not seen before or since by an Apostolic King of Urcea; the functions of government on every level were controlled by an occupying army that had spent the last half decade fighting to put him in the Julian Palace. The King, taking lessons from his father, decided to make his first priority the restoration of government with reasonable reforms included. The very first act the King made was to declare that the Urcean Republic was never legal and that the Concilium Daoni had no authority to dissolve the Apostolic Kingdom and, further, that no power on earth had the authority to abrogate the Golden Bull of 1098. The King, controversially, decided to accept the results of the 1900 Daoni election. Despite giving legitimacy to a controversial election, many of the socialists who had been elected had since been killed, and in the ensuing by-elections the National Pact filled the vacant seats and were compelled by the King to form a temporary unity government with the remaining National Democratic Party delegates in the Daoni. Having restored some semblance of organized government under the Constitution, the King turned to unpacking the reforms of the Crown Regency and deciding what to do with the last decade of laws while also considering new reforms that would prevent such a seizure of power from occurring again.

The King decided to consult with the leadership of the Concilium Daoni to determine the fate of the last near-decade and a half of laws, and the solution reached was considered novel by contemporaries. Every action taken by the Government of Urcea since December 21st, 1889 (the date of the death of King Aedanicus VIII), besides the election of 1900, was considered illegitimate and void, and instead, the Daoni would pass an omnibus bill containing all of the reforms that the King and Daoni leadership wanted to retain. The Concilium Daoni then, on December 4th, 1902, considered and passed the "Constitutional Settlement Act of 1902", including an extremely broad array of legislative initiatives codifying what had occurred in the last decade and a half, including the Administrative Reorganization Act of 1892 (without provisions reorganizing the Archduchy of Urceopolis, the Grand Duchy of Yustona, or the Electorate of Canaery), language providing for reintegration into some of the economic institutions of the Holy Levantine Empire that had been severed since the 1890s, language continuing the social assistance programs created during the Regency, language asking the King, as head of the Estates of Urcea, to produce a final settlement on the status of Social class in Urcea, and language confirming other various reforms implemented by FitzRex. The Act also fixed the number of members of the Concilium Daoni at 500, a limitation that remains in force today. The Act additionally imbued Patrick III with broad powers to root out reamining militant republicans and other dissidents, powers which he delegated to the new Agency for the Preservation of the Restoration created under the Royal Administration. Questions regarding the power and status of the office of Procurator were left to be settled at a later time. King Patrick III also began to reform the Armed Forces of the Apostolic Kingdom of Urcea, recalling dismissed or deserted officers and soldiers from the past years back into service and issuing wide-reaching pardons to all but the highest commanders of the Regal Army, restoring normalcy in the armed forces. The pardon was particularly necessary for the reestablishment of the Royal Navy, as the experience of former Regal Navy officers and sailors would be critical for maintaining a navy going forward. The Daoni, on a request of the King, passed a law compensating large landowners who had lost their land during the war, especially under the Urcean Republic, but instead opened the land settlement and residency for the widowed families of soldiers - both Legitimist and Regal forces - in the last large scale Ómestaderoi program. The final major act of 1902 was by the King himself, upon prompting by the Concilium Daoni, issued his reform for Social class in Urcea. Rather than using FitzRex's system which lowered property requirement for optimates to nothing, the King decided to use his authority to completely abolish the optimate class, elevating the entire citizen body to the rank of privilegiata, thereby making it coterminous with citizenship in Urcea. Despite having been in the deepest throes of civil war just the month before, the war-weary populace received the various reforms and post-war expeidents well, and the 1902 Nativity season was characterized by a sense of cautious optimism and renewed trust in national kinship; it was recorded in many papers at the time that Christmas in 1902 saw many exemplary (and sometimes outlandish) acts of public charity, an event which would be remembered by the nation for years to come.

Entering his first full year on the throne in 1903, the King next turned to the permanent status of the office of Procurator. Some in the Concilium Daoni advocated abolishing the position and dividing its authority between the King and Chancellor. The King, however, saw the value in a non-Royal executive and decided to retain the position. Prior to the Regency, the office was appointed by the King with approval from the Daoni, which allowed for some abuse - especially given that FitzRex was functionally able to force his own appointment. Taking cues from the Collegial Electorate, the King decided to adopt a new system, the Procuratorial College. The Procuratorial College would meet every five years following regularly scheduled Concilium Daoni and local elections. Its membership would consist of the Governor from each province, the senior-most delegate of the Concilium Daoni from each province, and from each Royal Hold and State, five specifically elected designees. The Procuratorial College, with 83 members, would meet in December following the election for the Daoni and elect a Procurator, sometimes from among their ranks and sometimes not. This Procuratorial settlement also saw the King confirm the Procurator retaining the rank of Magister Militum that had been given to it during the Regency period, and the authorizing law for the changes also included more clear delineation of the Procurator's powers, replacing earlier precedents. The King decided the first election for Procurator would occur on schedule in December 1905; until then, the King would continue to exercise broad executive authority in order to ensure the security of the transition. This was confirmed by the "Enabling Act of 1903", which, among other provisions, gave the King broad latitude over economic programs and expenditures within the Royal Budget and also gave the King the ability to directly implement new economic law until the next election in 1905. The passage of the Act lead to a two year long political controversy known as The Enabling, as National Pact delegates split decisively on the matter, creating the Julian Party. The Enabling Act would allow the King to bypass a Censorial veto on allowing loans at interest later in 1903; this action was later considered to be the foundation for the later Great Depression in Levantia.

With the various constitutional issues finally settled by the early summer of 1903, the King's focus turned to other matters. While the Constitutional Settlement Act of 1902 had invalidated all actions taken by FitzRex and the various Daonis under his administration, the King nevertheless issued a formal statement of commitment to the Holy Levantine Empire and fealty to the Emperor of the Levantines, known popularly as the Patrick Confessional, and formally rebuked the 1905 secession deadline set by FitzRex, stating that the Gildertach could not have lawfully approved the decision to leave the Empire (and thus its trade system) on the basis that there was no Apostolic King to preside over the meeting of the Gildertach. This statement is widely considered to be the formal end of the Recess of the Julii which had began nearly a century prior. The relationship between House de Weluta and the Empire had been mended by the Empire's support for the Legitimist cause during the Red Interregnum, but the formal acknowledgement set the tone for Urcea's involvement in the Empire going forward. Consequently, with Urcea restoring its relationship with the Empire, Urceopolis sought to strengthen trade ties with Burgundie. The relationship with Burgundie also saw increased joint military exercises and exchange of military technology and intelligence, strengthening the commitment between the two that would form the basis of the later Levantine Union. Beginning in January of 1903, representative from Urcea sat in the Imperial Diet - the first time they had done so since 1816. In 1911, King Patrick III would sit Collegial Electorate as Elector of Canaery, the first time the Apostolic King of Urcea exercised his electoral rights since the 1790s. The King's diplomatic overtures were not entirely friendly, however; Urcea began to strengthen its ties to Veltorina in an effort to isolate and threaten Caphiria, given the latter's intervention in the Red Interregnum.

As 1903 came to a close and 1904 dawned, the King began to prepare for the 1905 election and subsequent transition of power to elected officials as well as a new, full Concilium Daoni. He decided to set forth a handful of policies in order to finish the restoration work he had began in 1902. Namely, the King began an extremely extensive infrastructure project which would not only rebuild the nation's wartorn railways, bridges, and buildings, but also construct many new ones. The King also took an interest in the construction of airfields and hangars for airships. His continued interest in the emergent technology of airships and, to a lesser extent, airplanes, lead to his creation of the Royal Air Fleet in 1904, the precursor of the modern Urcean Royal Air Force. The King's interest in military affairs did not end with experimental air technology, however. The complete failure of the Regal Navy during the Red Interregnum allowed for successful operations for the Legitimists including the noteworthy Fall of Cana. King Patrick III was deeply influenced by the effect of sea power on the outcome of the war. Like his father, the King proposed a major renovation of the navy. Integrating Regal Navy personnel, the King began construction of a modern fleet of ships. Uniquely for the time, the King decided to invite foreign military advisers to Urcea. Many radical naval thinkers from Burgundie came to Urceopolis in the period between 1904 and 1910, giving significant input on how a new and modern navy should look, how it should operate, and how it should be made up. Many of these advisers, like the King, had the lived experience of the Red Interregnum to provide key lessons. The King's naval reconstruction effort provided a major boost to the reconstructing economy, and the industrial base of the nation was up to the task. By 1912, the navy that the King had called for was largely in place, and most contemporaries noted that it was large enough and advanced enough to give Urcea the ability to project power on a nearly global basis and certainly in the Sea of Canete. Part of this effort saw the design and construction of the very first dreadnought in Levantia - the HMCMS Royal Hound - launched in 1909. The naval reconstruction effort centered around the Royal Hound and its sister ships in the Archduchy-class as well as the general-use Coria-class, among many other ship classes. From that point onward, the Navy overtook the Royal Army as the area of special focus for the Government of Urcea. King Patrick III has been considered by some historians to be the father of the modern Royal Navy, and an architect of Urcea's coming naval dominance in the Great War two decades later.

In 1905, the National Democratic Party (Urcea) won a landslide victory over the National Pact, creating the first non-Pact government in decades and ending the temporary unity government established by King Patrick III. While his various infrastructure and military reform efforts would continue unabated, the King handed over primary governing responsibility to the elected government, earning him the admiration of leaders on both sides of the political aisle for his commitment to the Constitution of Urcea. Although the second half of the King's reign would not see as much vigorous activity in reshaping the nation, it nonetheless saw the continuation of development and advancement in most fields, including the economy, political stability, military technology, and social cohesion. In most ways, Urcea emerged from the crucible of the Red Interregnum stronger than it had been than any time since the 18th century. King Patrick III decided to use this strength in 1908, when he deployed parts of the rebuilt Royal Navy to New Yustona in an effort to expand the colony there. His father's effort to do so in 1881 had lead to the colony being considered a discredited vanity project. The technological advances of the Army combined with the Navy's strength were no match for the overwhelmed Confederates, who believed Urcea a paper tiger; Urcea successfully annexed Schoharie, a tribe of the Northern Confederation, and secured an equal trading rights agreement with the Confederation. The demonstration lead to many in the Occident taking notice; the Armed Forces of the Apostolic Kingdom of Urcea were equally as up to the task of displaying Urcean might as its political, social, and economic sectors were.

The Urcean economy became increasingly unstable due to the loosened restrictions on usury proclaimed by the King several years earlier. In 1908, the Royal Bank of Urcea informed the Concilium Purpaidá that received interest on its excessive lending was insufficient and that the Bank may face an insolvency issue by the late 1910s. This fact became public in February 1909, leading to major concerns of debts being called in. On 12 February 1909, a massive market sell off began as speculators sought to have enough liquid capital to cover a debt recall. This sell-off lead to a chain reaction beginning the Great Depression in Urcea and Levantia as a whole. The National Democratic Party-lead Concilium Daoni passed the "National Banking Act" on 12 March 1909, which reinforced pre-Interregnum anti-usury laws and ordered the Royal Bank to restructure by changing from an interest-based to a non-interest based system. These moves stabilized the economy for the time being, but the country was plagued with some political turmoil for a decade to come. While the country remained more stable than it had been in the period of the Regency, a low-level war began between the Agency for the Preservation of the Restoration and the insurgent National Republican Army, whose ranks swelled with unemployed, especially unemployed veterans.

Imperial Resurgence

With Urcea as a fully integrated member of the Holy Levantine Empire once again and a seat in the Collegial Electorate, King Patrick III fully committed the Kingdom to supporting the cause of Emperor and Empire. In 1911 he cast his vote for the election of August I of Burgundie, both because he sincerely believed in his capacity to rule but also as part of a larger effort to continue courting Burgundie as a close ally. The Collegial Electorate believed that Burgundie, as the relatively-new premier power in Levantia (given Urcea's isolation since 1889), could be trusted to lead the Empire back to stability. Derian nationalists, already in revolt or planning revolt in some principalities in Dericania, severely resented the notion of a Bergendii ruling over them. For most Derian nationalists, the memory of the First Fratricide - and the effect it had on the possibility of a unified Deric Republic - was an open wound, and resentment against an Emperor from Burgundie worsened the situation "on the ground" in most Deric principalities.

In 1911, the Derian state of Anivania in Dericania declared itself a Serene Republic, creating the inference of its own independence; Emperor August had already committed Burgundie and some Imperial states to the War of Faskano Strait, precluding any intervention. Many of the princes of the Kingdom of Dericania decided to take matters into their own hands only to find themselves in danger of being overthrown by their own subjects once military mobilization began. The Emperor's diplomatic efforts precluded the outbreak of war, but low-level domestic violence began to occur throughout Dericania and between the various principalities within it. Though his confidence in the Emperor was deeply shaken with Burgundie's failure in the War of Faskano Strait, he nonetheless committed Urcea to the Emperor's program of connecting railroads and constructing a telegraphy network. King Patrick III died in 1917 and was succeeded by his 57-year old son, James, who became King James VI. King James kept Urcea committed to the Emperor's infrastructure efforts, which strengthened the physical connection between Urcea and Burgundie even if the efforts were a failure in some other parts of the Empire.

Despite King Patrick's support for the Emperor and the importance of the relationship between Urcea and Burgundie, it became clear by 1919 that Emperor August was no longer capable of serving as Emperor of the Levantines with any sense of legitimacy. King James nonetheless remained a silent critic of the Emperor and made no public call for his abdication, but the King made it clear in private channels that he had no confidence in the Emperor's ability to remedy the deteriorating situation in Dericania. In December of 1919, Emperor August proposed a compromise with the Derian liberal nationalist faction: he would divest himself of the title of King of Dericania, granting it to a reform-minded Derian prince, with Dericania being modeled on Fiannria's position within the Empire. This move, which would transform the Holy Levantine Empire into something resembling a loose alliance between Urcea, Fiannria, Dericania, and Burgundie, was viewed as completely unacceptable by a majority of representatives of the Imperial Diet, who voted to reject it in December. Though the King-Elector maintained public silence, the Emperor asked him for his support and confidence in late January 1920, and King James sent no reply. Without Urcean support and facing increasing opposition in Burgundie for accommodation with the hated Derian people, Emperor August announced on January 29th, 1920, that he would abdicate the throne on the 8th of February, and the Collegial Electorate immediately met in Corcra to ensure that the Imperial Throne did not sit vacant at such a critical hour. The Collegial Electorate met for the entire week prior to Emperor August's abdication, unable to choose a candidate. Eventually, the compromise notion of electing King James of Urcea as Emperor of the Levantines - completely unthinkable a few decades prior - became a real possibility. He was not Bergendii, and the wounds of the Third Caroline War were not as deeply felt in the Kingdom of Dericania as the First Fratricide was. Further, the Collegial Electorate believed the Royal Army was strong enough to intervene and ensure that the Deric princes could retain their thrones in the face of revolutionaries. It was also believed that Urcea leading the Empire would command supreme respect, not only among the subjects of the Empire, but also abroad; evidence of Caphirian intervention became more and more evident by the year, and the Electors believed only Urcea could prevent Caphiria stoking the fires of Latinic, Derian nationalism. On February 7th, despite the misgivings of nearly every member of the Collegial Electorate, including King James himself, the Collegial Electorate elected King James VI of Urcea as King of the Levantines. The next day, James was given the traditional coronation ceremony by the Pope in the Imperial Palace in Corcra, becoming Emperor James III. He was the first Urcean and the first member of the House de Weluta to sit on the Imperial Throne since 1798, more than 120 years prior.

King James VI as Emperor of the Levantines, photographed in 1924.

Emperor James III's first act was to enter into negotiations with Anivania in order to reestablish Imperial supremacy in exchange for recognition of the Republic, an effort that would end in failure. Despite the efforts he and his father had been working on for nearly two decades, the Emperor still felt that the Royal and Imperial Army - which had just gained its Imperial designation - was not ready for a major armed conflict. Instead, he convinced the princes of Dericania to eject Anivania from the free trade area of the Holy Levantine Empire, totally isolating the country economically and diplomatically. The Emperor's move had the intended effect - the government of the Serene Republic of Anivania collapsed by June 1920 and the Duke of Anivania was restored the same month. Unfortunately for the Emperor, the starvation conditions in Anivania had the effect of radicalizing the Derian nationalists, who were soon dispersed throughout the Kingdom of Dericania. Though history has recorded agitating groups in the Kingdom of Dericania as "Derian nationalists", in truth there were many different groups with entirely different ideologies and motives united by the belief of a united Deric republic. Among these groups were socialists agitating for the abolition of monarchy and independence of the Derian people, many of whom were involved in the government of Anivania. Many of these individuals fled to the Electorate of Aescarata, which erupted in a socialist revolt in 1921. From the perspective of Urcea, the Electorate falling to rebel groups was an entirely different proposition than Anivania as the Electorate sat on Urcea's border. On August 1st, 1921, the National Democratic Party (Urcea)-controlled Concilium Daoni gave its overwhelming support to Emperor James III for a military intervention. The Royal and Imperial Army, which had not fought in a real battle since the Red Interregnum, invaded Aescarata on August 15th. The reformed Royal and Imperial Army quickly subdued the rebellion and occupied the country by the end of August. Seeking not to repeat the failures in Anivania, the Emperor traveled to Corcra to put the matter before the Imperial Diet. Following weeks of debate, the Diet finally returned a solution. Aescarata was not strictly Derian like its neighbors, having Urcean, Gassavelian, and Bergendii influences besides a unique local culture. Consequently, the Diet decided that removing Aescarata from the Kingdom of Dericania and reassigning it to the legal fiction of the Imperial Kingdom of Urcea, putting the Electorate under the Emperor's direct supervision. The Diet also offered the Emperor, if the Concilium Daoni approved, the right to garrison the Royal and Imperial Army in the country for a period of ten years in order to restore order. The Daoni approved, and the Imperial Charter was officially changed on March 1st, 1922. Derian nationalists, far from placated by the removal of a marginally Derian country from Dericania, considered this an insult to the dignity of the Derian people and a repeat of the First Fratricide, where the proposition of a united Deric state was fractured. Derian nationalists, socialists, and independence-minded liberals began agitating at a level unseen, and during this period Caphiria made formal contact with these subversive groups via a series of agents. Despite the unrest, most considered the Emperor's interventions in Anivania and Aescarata to be a success, and for the time being the geopolitical situation in the Kingdom of Dericania was stable. The Emperor was aware things were not what they seemed; that unrest, plans for revolt, and Caphirian ties were bubbling under the surface, but Emperor James III felt his hands were tied; the Aescarata situation had been a risk, and further provocations in the Kingdom of Dericania could make it appear as if Urcea was planning to dominate the Empire, not restore it to stability.

As the Apostolic Kingdom prepared to focus on its external affairs and the duties of the Emperor of the Levantines, a decade and a half of instability and political turmoil came to a close. Following about fifteen years of unsuccessful efforts to restore the Urcean Republic, the National Republican Army decided to disband in 1924. As a consequence, the Republican Party was legalized and became a legitimate political party, though in the upcoming 1925 Concilium Daoni election it would fail to gain seats. Improving economic conditions in Urcea in addition to effective techniques employed by the Agency for the Preservation of the Restoration lead to the NRA's significant decline by 1919. The negotiated end to the NRA lead to increased public scrutiny against the Agency for the Preservation of the Restoration, which was viewed as an unnecessary. Although the nation's secret police was used sparingly between 1924 and 1927, it continued operations until its final abolition in 1927.

Early in 1925, an election in the Republic of Lutsana - a state in the Kingdom of Dericania - returned the Lutsana Worker’s Party in the government. The LWP appointed an openly communist Prime Minister. The Emperor was compelled by the princes to suppress the results of the election and adopt an Empire-wide policy of rollback in order to combat revolutionary threats. The Diet and Emperor issued a joint proclamation demanding a new election, but the government of Lutsana refused. The conservative-minded Army of Lutsana viewed this proclamation as delegitimizing the new LWP-lead government, and consequently the Army launched a coup, but were soon defeated by an army of workers and peasants. The Emperor sought to intervene, but the 1925 Concilium Daoni was considered close and, as Apostolic King of Urcea, James did not want to take any drastic moves to interfere with the normal functioning of government. This, combined with the attention the King was increasingly showing towards the growing crisis in the Kingdom of Dericania, lead to a further strengthening of the precedent of Royal withdrawal within the Constitution of Urcea. The 1925 election saw a resurgent National Pact threatening the now two-decades long control of the National Democratic Party (Urcea). The National Pact was sympathetic towards the liberals in the Kingdom of Dericania and was concerned with the growing power the King was accumulating as Emperor. The National Democratic Party, on the other hand, viewed themselves as fierce defenders of the existing Constitutional settlement and champions of stability and order in Levantia; the NDP held that the existence of the Holy Levantine Empire was absolutely necessary to ensure stability and prevent open war, a position it had dramatically reversed on since the party's founding during the FitzRex era. It additionally campaigned on the notion that a challenge to James as Emperor was a challenge to Urcea and an insult to national pride. This attitude was increasingly being felt throughout Urcean society, and the refusal of Lutsana to comply with the Emperor and eject its radical socialist party - one that many Urceans associated with the horrors and excesses of the Urcean Republic two decades earlier - resonated with the people. The National Democratic Party won a commanding majority in the Concilium Daoni in 1925 and the government consequently created a series of temporary laws - collectively known as the Regional Stability Acts of 1926 - allowing the Apostolic King of Urcea absolute carte blanche control of the Armed Forces of the Apostolic Kingdom of Urcea for use in Levantia. The government issued a statement of support for the King's reign as Emperor. These policies were collectively referred to by a phrase used in a speech made by then-Chancellor Seán Virius: "The Emperor's word is Urcea's word]]", or in other words, that the will of the Emperor was the will of the Government of Urcea, and to refuse the lawful demands of the Emperor was an insult of Urcea's national pride. Though the situation in the Kingdom of Dericania was rapidly declining by January 1926, the supreme confidence invested in him by the Government of Urcea gave him renewed confidence to impose the will of the Empire in the Kingdom of Dericania.

In February of 1926, another imperial state, Geneseo, elected a syndicalist government and the election results were confirmed by the Duke of Geneseo before he fled the Duchy. The Emperor issued another proclamation demanding the election be reconsidered, and like in the Lutsana case it was refused. Unlike in the case of Lutsana, the Emperor sent an expeditionary force of the [[Royal and Imperial Army (Urcea)}Royal and Imperial Army]] through Dericania to subdue the government of Geneseo. The Royal and Imperial Army was stopped at the border of the Margraviate of Novaustramark, which refused entry to the Royal and Imperial Army. Following three days of tense standoff, the Derian nationalist-filled Novaustramark army began firing on the expeditionary force, causing a major international incident. The Emperor appeared in person before the Imperial Diet and demanded the Duke of Novaustramark be censured and asserted that the Imperial Army could enter any territory within the Holy Levantine Empire in order to execute the business of the Empire. The princes of Dericania, though appreciative of the Emperor's efforts, chafed severely under this assertion and refused to censure Novaustramark. The Concilium Daoni was outraged and demanded the King take action. Seeing no other option, on March 3rd, 1926, King James VI began the full mobilization of the Armed Forces of the Apostolic Kingdom of Urcea. The mobilization was enough to break the will of Novaustramark and compel the Diet into censuring the Duke; the mobilization was partially canceled although the Army was now on permanent elevated alertness. The Army quickly restored the Duke in Geneseo and crushed the rebellion. After the incident, the Royal and Imperial Army pulled out but established heavy garrisoning on Urcea's eastern border as well as positions in Burgundie. The Emperor's garrisoning of Burgundie was intended to be a vote of support for Burgundie against the increasing pressure it was put under from neighboring Derian nationalists. Derian nationalists and the princes alike viewed this as an insult and implicit threat, and the entire Novaustramark incident had severely polarized the Imperial Diet. The Emperor decreed at the end of March that Novaustramark, Aescarata, and Geneseo would be responsible for footing the cost of the bases in Burgundie, yet another severe insult to the Derian national consciousness.

Despite the fact he himself was a constitutional monarch, James himself deeply believed in the rights of the princes of the Kingdom of Dericania and the principle that Urcea ought not and, legally, could not be concerned with the internal affairs of other members of the Holy Levantine Empire. Following the conclusion of the Novaustramark incident, a faction within the National Democratic Party (Urcea) met with the Emperor and tried to steer a change of national course. It was suggested that the Emperor should force the princes to attempt reforms, aligning the institution of the Empire with the various reform-minded liberals and the majority of the Derian people rather than with the princes. This course of action was secretly endorsed by Prince Brian of Halfway, though his involvement in organizing the conference was not revealed until the 1950s. The meeting was a failure as the Emperor rejected the course of action as cowardly and an illegal intervention in Latin affairs. Despite this, the Concilium Daoni continued to support the Emperor and applauded his successful intervention in Novaustramark and Geneseo. The Urcean people also generally approved of the Emperor's actions and felt that the national honor had been avenged. The remainder of spring and early summer were peaceful and stable, though the Imperial Diet was now a contentious place where, on June 3rd, fist fights broke out between the members. In July, the peace was disrupted in multiple states as Imperial Tax Collectors meant for Novaustramark were viciously assaulted, branches of the Imperial bank were robbed and destroyed, and the residents of several Imperial princes were violently attacked. The Emperor again announced the mobilization of the whole Army; this time, there would be cancellation. Fifteen states were in some kind of conflagration by the middle of fall, and the Emperor was hesitant to fully use the might of the Royal and Imperial Army lest the Imperial Diet begin to turn against him.

On the morning of March 12th, 1927, a large flotilla of Caphiria's Imperial Naval Fleet was detected by the Navy of Burgundie and landed in the Imperial state of Loreseia, one of the sites of the unrest. The Caphirian ships landed a large army of Caphirian-armed and trained Derian nationalists; these nationalists linked up with local cells and provided them with Caphirian arms, and then these "Legions" as they were called began to fan out. Large parts of eastern Dericania were taken by the Legions by the end of the month, establishing various free states. The Emperor held back no more; the Royal and Imperial Army - more than 250,000 strong with many more forces mobilizing - entered the Kingdom of Dericania on March 29th, 1927. In response, the Legion-controlled states formally declared war on the Holy Levantine Empire generally and Urcea specifically. The first phase of the Great War had officially begun, though the scope of the coming conflict would not become clear for several years.

Great War (1927-1935)

With the presence of large Derian nationalist armies present in eastern Dericania, the Royal and Imperial Army's top priority was the defense of eastern Burgundie and preventing civil bloodshed between Derians and Bergendii, as had occurred in the First Fratricide. The Royal and Imperial Army garrisons aimed at intervention in the Kingdom of Dericania were ill-prepared to mount a defense in Burgundie's east, and by the end of April, 1927, the province of Marves had been overrun by the Derian nationalists. The Royal and Imperial Army arrived in force by May, but it was too little, too late. The Derian advance into Estia was halted with the advent of trench warfare by the hastily raised Tropes della Metropol, whose access to machine guns meant that the Derians were severely outgunned and had to dig in opposite the Burgoignesc lines. With the war bogged down in the east, the Royal and Imperial Army was gradually able to disengage in metropolitan Burgundie and focus elsewhere. In June, the Royal and Imperial Army successfully defended Corcra and drove the nationalists back east. The victory was short-lived, however, as Drusla - a state near Burgundie - fell to the nationalists. Drusla severely compromised the existing lines of trenches and defenses in Burgundie, requiring another infusion of Urcean forces into the country. In July, the Navy of Burgundie and Royal Navy announced it would begin actively interdicting any supply ships or convoys sailing into Levantine ports not bearing a national flag. This policy was expanded in November 1927 to be a full blockade of eastern Dericania. Though the lines had solidified in the west and allied navies held firm in the east, supplies and implicit support from Fiannria kept the "Legions" on their feet through the end of 1927 and all of 1928. The war continued through 1928 without clear result, as campaigns from the Royal and Imperial Navy in Dericania were successful in the north but continued to give ground in the south, further putting the still-mobilizing Burgundie at risk. By August of 1928, every principality in the Kingdom of Dericania not directly occupied by allied forces had been overthrown and established as a free state. In November, the various Legion-occupied and revolutionary states - many of them with drastically different political and ideological programs - announced the formation of a provisional Deric Republic to prosecute the war effort. In 1928, an international incident known as the "Order Affair" proved Caphirian involvement in the war in Dericania, nearly drawing Urcea into a war with Caphiria, but leadership of the Armed Forces of the Apostolic Kingdom of Urcea did not believe Urcea ready, so the Emperor allowed the matter to drop. Also in 1928, a series of allied states in Audonia began a war with Burgundie, which they perceived as weak due to the invasion of the country by the Derian nationalists. The Government of Urcea reluctantly promised to enter the war in Audonia by 1930 if Burgundie did not have the matter settled. Small portions of the armed forces were diverted to Antilles, drawing criticism from the National Pact.

Brian, Prince of Halfway assumed control of the Apostolic Kingdom in 1929 as regent; he would ascend to the throne later that year 1929 was a momentous year for the Empire and for Urcea. In February, Emperor James III announced that his son, Brian, the Prince of Halfway would be assuming the role of Crown Regent of Urcea so that the Emperor could fully devote his attention to winning the war. Early in the year, the King decided to reform the Royal Air Fleet into the Royal Air Force given the growing importance in heavier-than-air airplanes in emergent modern warfare. The Royal Air Force was comprised of air corps units from the Royal and Imperial Army as well as other independent agencies within the Government of Urcea devoted to airplane research and development. In May, the Royal and Imperial Army - now supplemented by a few divisions of Derian loyalists - broke through in the north and pushed to the Levantine Ocean near Alba Concordia, cutting off the Deric Republic from supplies from Fiannria to the north. The offensive stretched the Imperial lines thin, however, and in June the Deric forces broke through to the Kuhlfrosian border, cutting off a large number of Royal and Imperial Army forces who needed to be evacuated by sea. On June 29th, the forces of the Deric Republic captured Corcra, a major blow to the legitimacy of the Imperial cause. The prince-electors of the Empire - mostly all deprived of their electorates by now - took up residence in Urceopolis. Most of their descendants would remain in the city up through today. Despite several key victories, the Deric Republic would again be cut off by the middle of July, as Diamavya invaded Fiannria to reclaim lost territory from the 1880s, necessitating an end to the covert support for the Derian cause. For the time being, the strength of Urcean artillery allowed for some minor breakthroughs and prevented the formation of trenches in most places, but in the key parts of the line - especially centered on Corcra - trench warfare set in and would not abate for another two years. On October 2nd, 1929, the 70-year old Emperor James III - King James VI of Urcea - died. In Urcea, the ascension of King Brian IV was met with considerable optimism, as the new King was very popular and well-liked during his eight months as regent. The members of the Collegial Electorate and Imperial Diet - both of which were now meeting in Urceopolis - were sharply divided on the prospect of electing another Urcean to sit as Emperor of the Levantines. Given the emergency environment, the Electorate was convened the same day as the Emperor's death. Following hours of debate and rounds of voting, King Brian IV was eventually elected Emperor by a plurality of 12 votes. The next day, October 3rd, he received a dual coronation from the Pope in St. Peter's Archbasilica, receiving the traditional coronations due the Apostolic King of Urcea and Emperor of the Levantines. The campaign season ended soon after, but the new Emperor - Brian VIII in Levantine numbering - took steps to put Urcea on a total war footing, bringing the entire industrial base of the country into the war effort with approval of the Concilium Daoni. His predecessor, Emperor James III, had been of the opinion that the rebellion in Dericania could be subdued with expeditionary forces and Urcea's current supply system, but Brian recognized that, even if that were true, war with Caphiria was probably inevitable. The Concilium Daoni, on the King's request, also introduced a limited conscription program. The Royal and Imperial Army had been able to win some critical victories and outmaneuver the opponent, but Emperor Brian VIII recognized the only way to win militarily in Dericania was to entirely overwhelm them using the entire might of Urcea. The Emperor also had notions that a political and diplomatic conclusion to the conflict could be reached, an opinion he expressed in first his address to the Imperial Diet. The solution to the present crisis, the Emperor offered, was not merely in the supremacy of arms but in the efforts of the princes themselves; that if they proposed and implemented reforms, the nationalist cause would be starved of manpower. Brian would not make the mistake of offering Dericania to the nationalists like August did, but proposed some centralized institutions for the Kingdom of Dericania, institutions that resembled what would later become those of the Confederation of Dericania. The princes were incredulous at the suggestion, and the Emperor dropped the matter for the time, but the address had a major effect on the politics of the Empire. The reform-minded and liberal members of the Diet believed they had a new champion, and the conservatives felt betrayed. The Emperor assured all parties that his top priority would be the restoration of the princes, easing tensions for a time.

Mass production of the SAV-5 allowed for major Urcean breakthroughs in Dericania beginning in 1931

The Great War in 1930 would see the calcification of defensive lines and the failure of the Royal and Imperial Army to make a meaningful advance. With the loss of Kuhlfrosian support, a new Caphirian smuggling operation emerged in an effort to bring machine guns and other implements into Dericania to ensure the Deric Republic's forces were not out-gunned. Many of the smugglers were simply flying into Dericania on one-way supply runs, but most simply smuggled weapons in among legitimate goods. The new weapons meant that the Deric Republic could wage its own brand of trench warfare, and by the middle of 1930 a massive series of trenches and fortifications ran from the border of Fiannria to the border of Burgundie, running just west of Corcra. The Royal and Imperial Army began training full tank divisions in the summer of 1930 using the new, mass-produced SAV-5 tank, but these units would not be ready for another year. Prior to the SAV-5's deployment, Urcea had no armored divisions and its tank doctrine was typically concerned with using tanks as a mobile border defense unit; it had obtained a number of tanks prior to the production of the SAV-5, but these were mostly of foreign design or kept in reserve for defense of Urcea. With the war devolving into a static boundaries, enthusiasm for the National Democratic Party (Urcea) and its handling of the war began to fall, while Urcean public support for the war was still high. Also during the summer of 1930, Urcea agreed to support Burgundie in its ongoing war in Audonia, which soon became the eastern theater of the expanding Great War; Urcea and Burgundie agreed upon a Kingdom of Dericania-first strategy, prioritizing the existential threat to Burgundie and the Empire over what Urceopolis considered a "colonial squabble". In November of 1930, the National Pact won a majority in the Concilium Daoni and elected a Procurator, allowing it to form its first government since the national unity government of King Patrick III prior to the 1905 election. The National Pact renounced the policy of "The Emperor's Word is Urcea's Word", but nonetheless promised King Brian IV that his emergency war powers were safe for the time being. Instead, the King had a new popular mandate from the National Pact government: preservation of the Holy Levantine Empire was important for regional stability and should be a priority, but the first priority for the Emperor was to attain an honorable end of the war. A secret conference between the King and the incoming National Pact leaders held on December 11th, 1930, set forth the nation's policy. The Emperor planned to gain the upper hand in the war and then reach a negotiated settlement. The Emperor's planned settlement was the one he proposed to the Diet in 1929, which he would present to the Imperial Diet as a fait accompli. The Emperor's planned trump card - the armored divisions - were still being prepared, but in February 1931 the Royal and Imperial Army began a line-wide artillery bombardment which would last for three weeks. Called Operation Onslaught, the barrage succeeded in gaining the Royal and Imperial Army's artillery corps valuable experience, and, although it didn't substantially alter the strategic outlook in the Kingdom of Dericania, it did allow advances of the Royal and Imperial Army along some parts of the line, and the barrage additionally demoralized the Deric forces. Various offensives throughout the rest of 1931 failed until early October, when the Royal and Imperial Army launched Operation Princeps. Ten armored divisions broke through the Deric trenches in a pincer move and collapsed their line, with the armor then surrounding the city and the infantry launching a full frontal assault. Though the Royal and Imperial Army incurred heavy casualties with the infantry charge, Corcra fell on October 8th. For his role in retaking Corcra, which he set as the top priority for the Army and expedited the deployment of the armored divisions, the Imperial Diet gave Emperor Brian VIII the title of "Restitutor Orbis", or "restorer of the world". Though the apparatuses of the Imperial government wouldn't relocate to Corcra until the crisis had passed, the recapture of the nominal capital of the Empire proved a huge morale boost. With the center of the Deric line having collapsed, the armored divisions spearheaded several more offensives before the end of the year, but most of the tanks had broken down by December of 1931. Despite the forward movement having stalled, Imperial forces made large gains. While Urcea was pushing the offensive in northern Dericania, the Tropes della Metropol finally ejected Derian nationalist forces from Burgundie in November and recaptured Drusla in early December. Elsewhere in 1931, the Royal Navy began monitoring Caphirian shipments to Audonia in order to support the war effort against the Levantines there, but due to the state of still-neutrality Caphiria maintained, the Royal Navy was reduced to an intelligence and reconnaissance role. Additionally, Urcean forces in Antilles began to strike at Audonian forces to ensure clear access to the Gulf of Kandara. Land-based aircraft of the Royal Air Force began experimental naval bombings against the Audonians, but the experiments were considered mixed at best and the use of air power on the sea was ruled out for another four years. The Royal Navy saw some of its first true combat experience in Audonia in 1931, but most of its deployments were with outdated ships such as the Coria-class cruiser. The experience gained by its sailors, however, would be invaluable in the coming years with major naval deployments between Halfway and Urlazio. Also in 1931, Diamavya and Caphiria agreed to a formal alliance, leading to Urcea sending provisions and supplies to Fiannria with the promise to send more once the war in Dericania was complete. While the Holy Levantine Empire maintained considerable enmity towards Fiannria in the early 1930s due to its role in fanning the flames of revolt in the Kingdom of Dericania, Urcea had no choice but to aid Kuhlfros and curb Caphirian influence in Ultmar. In response to the alliance, Urcea publicly condemned Diamavya as a rogue state, leading to the severing of diplomatic ties between the two nations.

As Urcea's focus shifted further afield than Dericania, and with a major victory having been achieved as the foreign-trained Legions of the Deric Republic were been mostly broken, the Emperor began secret negotiations with the reformists and liberals within the Republic. Though the city of Corcra itself fell, the Free State of Corcra took the lead within the pro-peace faction. Since late 1931, supplies from Caphiria had been cut off due to Caphirian preparations for war in Sarpedon and supplies going elsewhere, such as Diamavya and, beginning recently, Audonia. The various leaders of the Deric Republic were quarreling nearly daily, and the peace faction emerged out of those who opposed both extremist nationalists and socialists. Major campaigns began in February of 1932, with Urcea again on the offensive. Several minor victories convinced the peace faction that ending the war was preferable to the defeat and ravaging of the Kingdom of Dericania by foreign powers. The dire situation within the Deric Republic worsened with Caphiria's declaration of war on Veltorina in August of 1932, with Venceia having believed the Levantine powers were distracted enough to prevent their intervention. Deric leaders realized that no further supplies or aid could be expected; the peace faction successfully convinced many moderates that they had been deceived, and that the Deric Republic was little more than a designed speedbump for Levantia before fighting began in Sarpedon. From the Emperor's perspective, it was now absolutely imperative to end the war in Dericania; the National Pact believed the war in Sarpedon to be the priority, since Urcea was treaty-bound to defend Veltorina according to the peace treaty ending the Veltorine War of Independence. Consequently, in September, the Emperor and factions within the Deric Republic agreed to a framework truce called the Peace of Ardaire. In it, Urcea formally recognized any "free state" of the Deric Republic that abjured the radical nationalist proposition and would agree to a truce. The peace included the promise of recognition of Dericania-wide institutions (similar to what the Emperor proposed to the Diet in 1929), and also promised a future settlement on the status of the Holy Levantine Empire and Kingdom of Dericania. Several free states agreed to the peace and defected to the cause of Urcea and Burgundie. Outraged members of the Imperial Diet and several princes whose claims were now not recognized by Urcea began a riot in Urceopolis, burning down a part of Oldtown until the members and princes were arrested on September 19th. With the arrest and imprisonment of dissenting members of the Diet, it functionally ceased to operate as a formal institution; its remaining members were all loyalists of the Emperor, and from 1932 onward the Emperor of the Levantines, Brian VIII, functionally ruled the Empire alone. Not only was the peace a geopolitical win for the Emperor given that it guaranteed a victory in Dericania in the future, but it was also a political one. The leadership of the National Pact felt that the King had kept his promise from the December 1930 meeting, and its leadership agreed to renew King Brian IV's authority to prosecute the war in Dericania indefinitely. A further secret meeting in late 1932 between the National Pact's leadership and the King was held; the Procurator told the King that, independent of the Emperor's war, the Government of Urcea intended to declare war on Caphiria by no later than 1935, and it was absolutely imperative that the war in Dericania come to a close by then in order to prevent a two front war. The King agreed to this and promised the war would be functionally over by 1935, and that a permanent settlement for the Empire would be agreed to by then. The Government of Urcea, in turn, made a secret promise to the government of Veltorina that it would come to its aid fully in 1935. 1932 came to a close with the beginning of arms shipments to Veltorina via Dorhaven, a policy that was neither publicized nor official but nonetheless played an important role in keeping Veltorina fighting. On the logistics and supply front, Urcea condemned Caphiria as a rogue state for its invasion of Veltorina, giving Urcea the diplomatic cover to declare an end to the Odoneru Ocean supply line from Caphiria to Diamavya. Patrols of the Royal Navy - aided by the navy of Pauldustllah - shut down formal supplies from Caphiria traveling north.

Early 1933 saw Urcea's island possession of Nolis declare independence from Urcea as a crown commonwealth, retaining the Apostolic King of Urcea but separating its sovereignty and government from Urcea. Nolis, which saw the failure of Urcea to immediately intervene on Veltorina's behalf, was in the midst of a war scare with fears that the island would be on the front lines of a war with Caphiria. The Government of Urcea decided to recognize the declaration on 18 January 1933. Though Nolis was an important possession, Urcea's overseas empire was of relatively second priority and it could not spare forces in Sarpedon while it was already engaged in Levantia and Audonia. The Government made efforts to reinforce its existing possessions, deploying additional forces to the Far Eastern squadron of the Royal Navy. In February, Antilles was besieged by the Audonian League's forces. Antilles, which had been a possession of Urcea since the Great Confessional War, had been fortified and increasingly militarized since 1929 in addition to the reinforcements sent earlier in the year. The initial siege of Antilles went poorly, and the Audonians abandoned the siege by the end of March, 1933. Elsewhere in the Audonian theater, the Royal Navy and Navy of Burgundie would engage in a series of battles with the Audonian navies, especially some of the first battles of the Barbary Straits and the Aab-e-Farus. Back in Levantia, the Royal and Imperial Army made steady progress but ultimately no offensives as dramatic as those in 1932. The armored divisions of the Royal and Imperial Army encountered severe supply and logistical problems as the SAV-5's began to break down in the field, causing a halt to most offensive operations. Further, the battle lines were unclear given the concordat reached with some Deric free states in 1932, making the Royal and Imperial Army hesitant to advance in the face of multiple Derian states undergoing coups to determine their disposition for the remainder of the war. Consequently, no major offensives were launched for most of 1933, but Urcea continued to send supplies and arms to its allies, which now included some of the states of the Deric Republic. The 1934 campaign season was similar to the preceding year for Urcea as few major offensives were launched, but the liberal Derians launched several major offensives and by the beginning of 1935, the ultranationalist faction - centered around the remaining core of the Legions landed by Caphiria in 1927 - were reduced to a border roughly equating to the modern territory of Loreseia in the eastern region of Dericania. As the fighting between the Derians continued, King Brian felt confident enough in the situation in Dericania to appear before a meeting of the Concilium Daoni and ask for a formal declaration of war on Caphiria on behalf of the sitting Government of Urcea. The Daoni granted his request on February 3rd, and Urcea formally declared war on Caphiria the same day; Diamavya, in response, declared war on Urcea, bringing the Apostolic Kingdom into the northern war. All unofficial smuggling and supply operations were now subject to seizure on the seas and any traffic coming past Halfway from the Urlazian Sea was stopped. The loss of smuggled supplies further weakened the Deric Republic's legions. Rather than immediately move for a decisive blow, however, Urcea began sending an increasing amount of resources and personnel to Tromarine and Halfway in preparation for the war with Caphiria, leaving a reduced presence in Dericania. As military planners began to switch focus to the war with Caphiria, the Emperor was reliant on an increasingly reduced number of forces in Dericania and a series of uneasy allies, turning to the diplomatic front to bring a total end to the fighting. Meanwhile, the Royal Navy scored a decisive victory at the Battle of the Adonáire Strait against Caphiria, securing naval dominance for the remainder of the war and choking off remaining supply routes into Levantia. While Diamavya could continue its war effort largely on its own, the Deric Republic could not. On May 1st, 1935, forces from the Royal and Imperial Army, Army of Burgundie, and allied Derian forces decisively defeated the Legions, cutting them off from one another and surrounding them following heavy casualties. On the 2nd, the Legions and government of the Deric Republic surrendered, bringing the war in Dericania to its effective conclusion. Despite the victory for the Emperor and his allies, the reputation and institutions of the Holy Levantine Empire were critically damaged. Although Urcea shared co-belligerency with Fiannria due to the war with Diamavya, the Republic nonethelesss announced its intention to become independent of the Holy Levantine Empire, and it additionally announced it would resist any effort by Urcea to reestablish Imperial governance in Dericania. Reestablishment of the Kingdom of Dericania was viewed by Urcea's Derian allies as an unacceptable conclusion to the war, stating that some kind of Derian Confederation would be necessary but the medieval institutions of the Kingdom were neither acceptable nor necessary. Viewing the Holy Levantine Empire as formally defunct outside Urcea and the ambivalent position of Burgundie on the issue, the Emperor decided to accept the inevitable. On May 20th, Emperor Brian VIII issued an Imperial proclamation "forever relinquishing...the responsibilities and administration of Imperial Governance in the Kingdoms of Dericania and Culfra", functionally renouncing any claim to Imperial institutions or authority beyond Urcea's border. The Concilium Daoni recognized the proclamation and end of the Empire's institutions on May 28th, followed by Burgundie on June 1st. Despite this proclamation, a formal treaty was necessary to end the conflict, and delegates met in Corcra to discuss the terms of the end of the war. By September, the Treaty of Corcra was signed by Urcea, Burgundie, the Deric Republic, and Fiannria, and it was ratified by the rump Imperial Diet on September 10th. It acknowledged the right of the Apostolic King of Urcea to retain the style, privileges, Regalia, and status of Emperor of the Levantines in perpetuity, formalized the end of Imperial authority beyond Urcea, provided for the dissolution of the Deric Republic, ceded territory to Burgundie, and established the framework for the creation of the Deric States and final mediatization of the Kingdom of Dericania, though this last clause would not be fully complete or implemented until after the end of the Third Fratricide nearly two decades later.

Great War (1935-1953)

The conclusion of hostilities in Dericania saw Urcea's attention shift definitively west. By July of 1935, the Royal and Imperial Army had deployed nearly fifty divisions - nearly a half a million men - to Tromarine, Dorhaven, Halfway, and its territory in Urlazio for defensive purposes, though relatively few of these were veteran units who had previously served in Dericania. Deliberations between the Government of Urcea, the Apostolic King of Urcea, and the high command of the Urcean armed forces in August of 1935 lead to the adoption of a definitive strategy. First, Sarpedon would be the primary theater of war for Urcea, diverging from Burgundie who began to focus its efforts on the war in Audonia. Second, the continued buildup efforts meant that a full-scale deployment in force in Sarpedon capable of defeating the enemy could not be achieved until the middle of 1937 at the earliest realistically, and most likely in the first half of 1938. Consequently, a three-pronged strategy developed which would buy the allies the necessary time until Urcea could fully enter the war in Sarpedon. First, Urcea would begin shipping additional war materiel to Fiannria, not only disrupting Caphirian ally Diamavya's war effort, but also providing a "proving ground" for new Urcean weapons. Second, Dorhaven and Halfway would be used to disrupt the Caphirian war effort via air and naval strikes in order to slow or stop their advance into Veltorina. These strikes would include strategic bombing of Caphirian industry in addition to tactical support of Veltorine defenders on the ground. Third, and most critically, Urcea would deploy an additional forty divisions of Dericania veterans to Urlazio and wage a "phony war" there in order to pull Caphirian divisions away from Veltorina. Many of these divisions were not full strength or were otherwise suited only for defensive purposes, but it was hoped that such a buildup would preclude further offensive operations in Sarpedon for the time being.

As Urcea devised its wartime strategy, it also negotiated and agreed to the Istroya Pact with Burgundie. The Pact replicated the open borders and common market institutions of the Holy Levantine Empire between the two nations, both as a wartime expedient but also as a continuation of the beneficial conditions afforded under the Empire. Intended to be a temporary measure, the length of the war would lead to the Pact's existence for another two decades until it was replaced by the similar Levantine Union after the end of the Great War, coinciding with the end of the Third Fratricide.

The early winter months of 1935-36 saw the rapid deployment of veteran Dericania divisions to Urlazio. These forces had a nominal strength equaling about 400,000 men, but documents declassified in the 1960s indicate it was likely no more than 215,000 soldiers capable of fighting. Royal and Imperial Army intelligence began a campaign to confuse Caphirian intelligence to shield the true size of "Army Group West". This initially included positioning non-functioning tanks with fresh coats of paint in Urlazio followed by new, inflatable vehicles for visual reconnaissance purposes. By March 2036, the pace of fighting on mainland Sarpedon had slowed to a stalemate as it became clear the Urlazio gambit had worked - Caphiria's military apparatus took the threat on Urlazio very seriously, buying Veltorina the critical time it needed to refresh its fighting forces and allowing Urcea additional time to mobilize and prepare.

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In addition to the developments in the Great War, 1944 was also a momentous year for the Constitution of Urcea. Public opinion had changed considerably during the war years as popular input was growing increasingly valued given the contributions of the Urcean people to the war effort. No major democratic movements formed, but across the political spectrum there had existed both ideological and practical concerns with the 83-member Procuratorial College system to elect the Procurator. While there was democratic input in the system, many believed that a more direct election system - namely, a nation-wide popular vote - would be the best way to select a Procurator. This impulse was not only based on a desire to increase popular input, but also due to complaints from the members of the College themselves that selecting a Procurator was a major distraction from their primary responsibilities as Governor or member of the Concilium Daoni. Consequently, on 7 May 1944, King Brian IV gave his assent to a measure abolishing the Procuratorial College and replacing it with a nation-wide vote for Procurator beginning with the 1945 Election. This system would retain some provincial input as the party primary process for Procuratorial candidates was still to proceed on a province-by-province basis. This change was the most recent major change to the Constitution of Urcea and governs how the Government of Urcea presently functions. It marked the final step on the transformation of the Procurator from a Royal functionary to a true pseudo-chief executive, and also elevated the mandate of the Procurator above that of the Chancellor and Temporary President.

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Lucás IV entered his fifth year as Apostolic King of Urcea in 1952; as a reversal of his earlier posture, the King began working with the National Pact-led government in order to try and bring the fighting to a peaceful settlement, an effort with which he met considerable resistance. Particularly, the Minister of State wielded particular influence within the government, and his view - that a negotiated peace was essentially a zero sum proposition - meant that most within the Pact would not accept anything besides the total defeat of Caphiria, a goal that looked increasingly unachievable despite victories in the Valcenian Theater of the war. Specifically, the government's stance was that of "no peace without Veltorina", or in other words, Urcea would not accept an end to the war that did not include the full sovereignty of Veltorina being respected, a stance that the King and opposing National Democratic Party (Urcea) viewed as unreasonable and as an unnecessary waste of men and resources. Although the King had the authority to contradict the government and bring an end to hostilities through his own authority - a power the Apostolic King of Urcea still retains - the King was unwilling to push the boundaries of the Constitution of Urcea. Consequently, he began a whistle-stop campaign throughout the country by meeting with governors, local officials, and members of the Concilium Daoni in their districts rather than in Urceopolis. His intention was to bring awareness to how unlikely an outright victory in the war was and to implore officials to begin calls for an end to the war that the King himself could join later. On July 30th, 1952, this campaign took him to Fort St. Andrew in Eastvale to meet with the Governor of the province. At the Fort St. Andrew Station, a car bomb detonated, and though the explosion did not directly harm King Lucás IV, the force of the explosion tipped the King's car on him as he was about to enter it. The King, crushed under the car, was still alive though unconscious when a group of armed men stormed the area. The King was not shot by the men, but the desperate attempts by the outnumbered Life Guard to hold the perimeter meant that the King could not be given help in time. King Lucás IV, 32 years old, died later that night in the Hospital of St. James. He was the first Apostolic King of Urcea to be assassinated. The next day, Derian extremists claimed responsibility for the assassination, claiming that House de Weluta was responsible for the misery and bloodshed of the ongoing Third Fratricide.

What King Lucás IV could not achieve in life, he achieved in death. Lucás's brother, the new King Patrick IV, was informed by the Procurator on August 2nd, 1952, that the government intended to try and achieve a "peace with honor" on Sarpedon so as to focus on the Third Fratricide, as links had been decisively established between the extremist cell and the Derian Liberation League. Popular support for the Great War in the 1940s had turned to resigned apathy by the 1950s; popular focus now began to shift in favor of war in Dericania to avenge the fallen King, as the Rally 'round the flag effect came into full effect in the weeks following the King's assassination. In response, the Government of Urcea began arms shipments to the Dericania National Congress beginning on August 10th, though no full military response could be mustered without removing significant forces from the Great War. Popular opinion had begun to grow to anger by October, as polls indicated that most Urceans believed the National Pact government had "not sufficiently responded to the assassination" and that the assassination was a "grievous insult to Urcean nationality and the pride of the Kingdom". On his part, King Patrick IV associated himself with the views of the people and began to urge the Government - in private and in public - to reach some kind of accord with Caphiria to end the conflict. With public opinion turning and pressure from the King, the Government of Urcea opened back-channel negotiations with the Government of Caphiria on October 15th, 1952. Urcea's main allies in the conflict - Cartadania and Burgundie - had determined to end the war with a settled peace earlier in 1951, and the assassination in Urcea turned Burgundie's attention from its commitments in Audonia to the ongoing Third Fratricide. Consequently, the initial back-channel negotiations had evolved into public negotiations in neutral Kiravia between four of the five members of the Levantia and Odoneru Treaty Association and Caphiria. Veltorina was excluded from peace negotiations, and several of Caphiria's allies - such as Diamavya - joined the negotiations by January. On 18 February 1953, the powers had agreed to a cease-fire pending a final settlement of the conflict, though low level fighting continued on several fronts, most notably between Burgundie and militant groups in Audonia. Negotiations concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Kartika, which brought the war to an end on 19 May 1953. Caphiria and other powers recognized the Treaty of Corcra and the soon-to-be-formed Levantine Union as well as acknowledging any settlement with the Deric States that the Levantia and Odoneru Treaty Association allies agreed to. Caphiria acknowledged war guilt in Levantia while Urcea controversially acknowledged war guilt in Sarpedon, with both powers pledging to pay reparations to other associated powers on either side. Urcea had both gained and lost much from the final outcome of the war; most divisive was the agreement by Urcea to the annexation of Veltorina by Caphiria in exchange for the independence of and unification of the lands of Valcenia, which would retain Iulia's place in LOTA. Urcea agreed to host the Veltorine government-in-exile, but many veterans and Veltorines felt that Urcea had betrayed Veltorina in exchange for peace in the Deric States; the betrayal would sting for a generation to come. The Treaty settled other theaters of the war with less Urcean involvement, and in Audonia, Burgundie managed to dictate the terms of the peace. All powers involved agreed to form a League of Nations in order to prevent such a war - and such a delayed, controversial peace - from occurring ever again.

Third Fratricide

More Information: Third Fratricide

Urcea did not wait for the treaty negotiations that would lead to the Treaty of Kartika to conclude. The ceasefire functionally ending the shooting phase of the Great War in Sarpedon was sufficient, and by 1 June 1953, 70 divisions of the Royal and Imperial Army were mobilizing in Eastvale and Burgundiemarch. On the King's request, the Concilium Daoni formally declared war on the Derian Liberation League and its member-states on 10 June 1953, formally entering Urcea into the Third Fratricide. Intending to support the states of the Derian National Congress, the Royal and Imperial Army crossed the border on 11 June, and many divisions were deployed to the capital cities of Hollona and Diorisia and Vorenia, both of which had been threatened previously. The Royal and Imperial Army then divided its forces; the "Southern Prong" focused on the full liberation of Vorenia in order to allow forces from Burgundie to enter the Deric States, while the "Northern Prong" would push to Corcra, much of which was overrun by Liberation forces. The Royal and Imperial Army had begun to pull most of its forces out of Sarpedon by 5 June, and by summer 1954 it planned to have a full 200 divisions deployed to the Deric States.

The focus on the continental war for the last two decades and subsequent return to war in Levantia was a major blow for the National Pact, who had won each election since 1930. Though the general populace felt that the Pact deserved another term in 1950 to complete the war, by 1948 most Urceans were skeptical of how Sarpedon was of any concern to Urcea. The assassination of the King, combined with a reopening of hostilities in Dericania, turned the public decidedly against the Pact. Consequently, National Pact leadership began an aggressive plan to finish deployment of the 200 divisions promised by January of 1954. As these plans unfolded, existing Royal and Imperial Army were joined by freshly redeployed forces from Burgundie in September 1953 and defeated Liberation Army forces decisively at the Battle of Albiga, pushing them out of the country and freeing all of Vorenia from organized socialist resistance forces. The "Southern Prong" offensive was incredibly successful, allowing allied forces to enter the Deric States from the south and west, but the "Northern Prong" was less successful. The Royal and Imperial Army had been bogged down at Rendana, a city in Corcra, and failed to break out by 10 November, meaning that all operations were canceled until the promised 200 divisions arrived. Urcea and its Deric allies spent much of the winter planning the next year's offensives while engaged in a major disagreement over strategic bombing in Dericania. Urcean command argued it was necessary to subdue the Liberation forces while the Deric allies believed it would be detrimental from a morale point of view and would hamper the Deric States economic development in the years after the war.

Over the winter, the Royal and Imperial Army reorganized campaign forces in order to create a rational military command structure. With considerable hesitation, the forces of the Derian National Congress agreed to be subsumed into a single military hierarchy and command structure, an important precursor to the establishment of the later Levantine Union. The allies decided the best approach would be to push to the Levantine Ocean by capturing Loreseia and splitting the Deric States in half, marginalizing the Liberation forces. Organized Liberation operations collapsed following the successful March Offensive in Loreseia, though fractured cells and units remained in pockets throughout the Deric States. In April, the Liberation League officially disbanded and its remaining constituent members - the Socialist Republic of Vinesia and the Democratic Socialist State of Allaria - unconditionally surrendered on 17 April 1954. Both states refused to surrender to the Deric States, so Urcea accepted Vinesia's surrender and Burgundie accepted Allaria's. The six allied Deric States, Urcea, and Burgundie convened at Electorsbourg from April to July 1954, eventually agreeing to and signing the Treaty of Electorsbourg. The Treaty established the Deric Confederation of all of the states of the former Kingdom of Dericania excepting Burgundie. It established the Confederation as the legal successor of the Kingdom of Dericania, and additionally finalized border changes and Mediatization called for but not implemented in the Treaty of Corcra.

The Treaty of Electorsbourg formally brought to an end a generation of war for Urcea. At war since 1927, a large percentage of the population could not remember a time before hostilities began nearly three decades before. Critically, it laid the groundwork for negotiations later in 1953 that would transform Urcea and Burgundie's Istroya Pact into something including all of the former members of the Holy Levantine Empire. The bloodshed and considerable socio-economic disruption in Dericania lead to the conclusion that the former Empire's flaws could be reformed away with the creation of a free union between its member states. Following months of negotiations, the Levantine Union Treaty was signed on June 1st, 1954 and came into effect the same day, creating the Levantine Union between Urcea, Burgundie, Anglei, and the newly established ten Deric States. Fiannria would agree to join later in 1955, reuniting the entire 1935 Holy Levantine Empire into a new union.