Talk:Second Great War

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 and Urcean heavily artillery 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 Army 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 Fiannrian 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 Faneria invaded Fiannria to reclaim lost territory from the 1880s, necessitating an end to the covert support for the Derian cause. 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 Second 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 Fiannrian support, a new Caphirian smuggling operation emerged in an effort to bring heavy artillery, 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 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 Second 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, Faneria 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 Fiannria and curb Caphirian influence in Ultmar. In response to the alliance, Urcea publicly condemned Faneria 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 Faneria 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 Talionia, 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 Faneria. Patrols of the Royal Navy - aided by the navy of Paulastra - 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; Faneria, 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 Faneria 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 Faneria, 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, Talionia, 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 Faneria's war effort, but also providing a "proving ground" for new Urcean weapons. Second, Talionia 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 1936, 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 Second Great War, 1938 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 1938, 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 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 Second 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 Second 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 Faneria - 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 Second 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.