History of Urcea (1902-1955): Difference between revisions

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 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 (City)|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 [[List of equipment of the Armed Forces of Urcea#Tanks|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)|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 [[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 (Urcea)|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 (Urcea)|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 (City)|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 (City)|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 [[Burgundian Security Forces#Tropes%20della%20Metropol%20.28Mainland%20Troops.29|Tropes della Metropol]] finally ejected Derian nationalist forces from Burgundie in November and recaptured Drusla in early December. Elsewhere in 1931, the [[Royal Navy (Urcea)|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 (Urcea)|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 (Urcea)|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.

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 (Urcea)|Royal Navy]]. In February, [[Antilles]] was besieged by the [[Audonia|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 (Urcea)|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 (Urcea)|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 (Urcea)|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 (City)|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.