2,554
edits
Cronan Theatre of the Second Great War: Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Cronan Theatre of the Second Great War (view source)
Revision as of 08:38, 19 May 2023
, 19 May 2023→Early War (1935-1938)
No edit summary Tag: 2017 source edit |
|||
| Line 45: | Line 45: | ||
===Arcerion=== | ===Arcerion=== | ||
Prior to the war, Arcerion had just concluded several years of direct combat operations against Ardmore, during which its Armed Forces were unsuccessful in their attempt to uphold the Ardmori Royal Family and prevent the Kingdom of Ardmore from collapsing. As part of the withdraw, Arcerion helped resettle thousands of Ardmori citizens and was undergoing a significant economic and cultural post-war boom from both the Ardmori intelligentsia that had emigrated, as well as the significant investments from wealthy Ardmori businesspeople who fled the new communist regiment of the Ardmori Cooperative. By 1934, Arcerion was a modern, industrial state with a strong, diversified economy and was considered to be one of the fastest growing nations in Crona. | Prior to the war, Arcerion had just concluded several years of direct combat operations against Ardmore, during which its Armed Forces were unsuccessful in their attempt to uphold the Ardmori Royal Family and prevent the Kingdom of Ardmore from collapsing. As part of the withdraw, Arcerion helped resettle thousands of Ardmori citizens and was undergoing a significant economic and cultural post-war boom from both the Ardmori intelligentsia that had emigrated, as well as the significant investments from wealthy Ardmori businesspeople who fled the new communist regiment of the Ardmori Cooperative. By 1934, Arcerion was a modern, industrial state with a strong, diversified economy and was considered to be one of the fastest growing nations in Crona. | ||
===The Cape=== | ===The Cape=== | ||
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-00331, Berlin, Aufmarsch des Reichsbanners.jpg|thumb|left|Kadets (the armed wing of the Constitutional Democratic Party) marching in 1927.]] | [[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-00331, Berlin, Aufmarsch des Reichsbanners.jpg|thumb|left|Kadets (the armed wing of the Constitutional Democratic Party) marching in 1927.]] | ||
| Line 55: | Line 54: | ||
The 1928 and 1932 elections would return similar results, each precipitated and followed by periods of intense turmoil that frightened off the scant foreign investors secured by the Capetian government in years previous. Throughout, inflation grew at an alarming rate. By 1935, the Cape would begin to default on its industrialization loans, and direct manipulation of the central bank to repay them led to hyperinflation of upwards of 10,000%. Nationalist opposition within the RNP would release an internal memorandum in late 1934 demanding the government seek foreign trade and aid, specifically naming cooperation with [[Caphiria]], under the threat of a coup. Although ideologically opposed, the Capetian government hesitatingly prepared a delegation to travel to [[Venceia]]. | The 1928 and 1932 elections would return similar results, each precipitated and followed by periods of intense turmoil that frightened off the scant foreign investors secured by the Capetian government in years previous. Throughout, inflation grew at an alarming rate. By 1935, the Cape would begin to default on its industrialization loans, and direct manipulation of the central bank to repay them led to hyperinflation of upwards of 10,000%. Nationalist opposition within the RNP would release an internal memorandum in late 1934 demanding the government seek foreign trade and aid, specifically naming cooperation with [[Caphiria]], under the threat of a coup. Although ideologically opposed, the Capetian government hesitatingly prepared a delegation to travel to [[Venceia]]. | ||
=== Caphirian Affair === | === Caphirian Affair === | ||
The Capetian delegation depart by seaplane in April of 1935, arriving in Caphiria two weeks later after engine trouble forced them to remain in Pelaxia for several days for engine repairs. Upon arriving, the delegation offered to enter into an alliance with Caphiria, from which Caphiria would be free to use Capetian bases and also stage troops in the South of Crona. Strategically, the Cape allows Caphiria to place significant pressure on St. Brendan's Strait, effectively jeopardizing the Western approaches to the Odoneru Ocean and preventing Urcea from receiving a significant amount of trade. In return, the Capetians would receive a bailout amounting to nearly three-quarters of the country's remaining foreign debt. Concurrent to this, Caphiria would send several battalions of troops to the Cape, nominally to rebuild the NRA, but behind closed doors, to balance out the army with a more loyal fighting force as purges and reconstruction continued. Caphiria also agreed, that in return for raw materials to assist its war effort, that it would send the Cape enough weapons and technical experts to both equip several divisions as well as begin local, licensed weapons manufacturing, with the eventual hope it would be able to resell these to the Caphirians to support their own war effort. | The Capetian delegation depart by seaplane in April of 1935, arriving in Caphiria two weeks later after engine trouble forced them to remain in Pelaxia for several days for engine repairs. Upon arriving, the delegation offered to enter into an alliance with Caphiria, from which Caphiria would be free to use Capetian bases and also stage troops in the South of Crona. Strategically, the Cape allows Caphiria to place significant pressure on St. Brendan's Strait, effectively jeopardizing the Western approaches to the Odoneru Ocean and preventing Urcea from receiving a significant amount of trade. In return, the Capetians would receive a bailout amounting to nearly three-quarters of the country's remaining foreign debt. Concurrent to this, Caphiria would send several battalions of troops to the Cape, nominally to rebuild the NRA, but behind closed doors, to balance out the army with a more loyal fighting force as purges and reconstruction continued. Caphiria also agreed, that in return for raw materials to assist its war effort, that it would send the Cape enough weapons and technical experts to both equip several divisions as well as begin local, licensed weapons manufacturing, with the eventual hope it would be able to resell these to the Caphirians to support their own war effort. | ||
| Line 63: | Line 61: | ||
Little happened in the months following diplomatically, but Cahpiria and the Cape secretly signed agreements and moved ahead with their plan. Caphirian soldiers appeared in June of 1934. The complete defanging of the Information Office in the decade past had significantly hampered the Cape's counterintelligence abilities, and despite the best efforts of the [[Caphirian Intelligence Community]], Arcerion was able to access information that indicated the Cape was arming itself and that Caphiria was already staging the submarine tenders and building the facilities necessary to support commerce raiding ships came only sporadically from the Urcean Defense Attache in the [[New Archduchy]]. By the summer of 1935 however, it was becoming explicitly clear that The Cape's military was burgeoning and Caphirian ships had already made several port calls into the port of [[Jauhanesar]], ferrying advisors, equipment, and intelligence. | Little happened in the months following diplomatically, but Cahpiria and the Cape secretly signed agreements and moved ahead with their plan. Caphirian soldiers appeared in June of 1934. The complete defanging of the Information Office in the decade past had significantly hampered the Cape's counterintelligence abilities, and despite the best efforts of the [[Caphirian Intelligence Community]], Arcerion was able to access information that indicated the Cape was arming itself and that Caphiria was already staging the submarine tenders and building the facilities necessary to support commerce raiding ships came only sporadically from the Urcean Defense Attache in the [[New Archduchy]]. By the summer of 1935 however, it was becoming explicitly clear that The Cape's military was burgeoning and Caphirian ships had already made several port calls into the port of [[Jauhanesar]], ferrying advisors, equipment, and intelligence. | ||
[[File:Arco ports.jpg|thumb|Ships docked at the quay in Chester-on-Moore, [[Moorden Governorate]], [[Arcerion]] in the 1920s load steel and other metal products to be shipped to [[Levantia]]. ]] | [[File:Arco ports.jpg|thumb|Ships docked at the quay in Chester-on-Moore, [[Moorden Governorate]], [[Arcerion]] in the 1920s load steel and other metal products to be shipped to [[Levantia]]. ]] | ||
On 14 November 1935, a Caphirian submarine that was based out of the newly constructed submarine pens in the Eastern Capetian Peninsula sighted what it assessed as a cargo freighter bound Eastward for Levantia. Based on radio communications that Caphiria had intercepted from the vessel, it was able to ascertain it was indeed an Arcer-flagged vessel, although it was confirmed to be carrying both steel products such as road wheels for tanks, as well as some chemical compounds required to manufacture ammunition. It torpedoed the vessel, the ''SS Finch'', which was lost with all hands and sunk quickly due to its explosive and heavy cargo. Arcerion did not learn of its sinking until two weeks later when the company lodged a formal protest after sailors from a Burgoignesc vessel chartered out of Equatorial Ostiecia found flotsam belonging to the ''Finch''. Enraged, the Arcer government summoned the Caphirian Consul in the New Archduchy to answer for the ship's sinking and the loss of two dozen crew. The Arcer government acknowledged it was carrying weapons and other materiel required for the Levantian war effort, but it reminded Caphiria that Arcerion was both neutral and the ship was privately owned and operated. Embattled, the Caphirian Consul conedd it was unfortunate but that the vessel was a legitimate military target. Arceiron expelled the Consul via rail, however his expulsion was leaked in the Kinnaird Financial Times, and he required escort from members of the [[Royal Arcerion Constabulary]] to avoid being assailed on his exit. The Arcer government also sent telegrams and diplomatic letters to the Capetian government, who were now emboldened with several divisions and a fledgling armed forces, which rebuked the claims as 'Capitalist Slander,' insisting Arcerion had made itself a combatant by supporting Urcea and its allies. | On 14 November 1935, a Caphirian submarine that was based out of the newly constructed submarine pens in the Eastern Capetian Peninsula sighted what it assessed as a cargo freighter bound Eastward for Levantia. Based on radio communications that Caphiria had intercepted from the vessel, it was able to ascertain it was indeed an Arcer-flagged vessel, although it was confirmed to be carrying both steel products such as road wheels for tanks, as well as some chemical compounds required to manufacture ammunition. It torpedoed the vessel, the ''SS Finch'', which was lost with all hands and sunk quickly due to its explosive and heavy cargo. Arcerion did not learn of its sinking until two weeks later when the company lodged a formal protest after sailors from a Burgoignesc vessel chartered out of Equatorial Ostiecia found flotsam belonging to the ''Finch''. Enraged, the Arcer government summoned the Caphirian Consul in the New Archduchy to answer for the ship's sinking and the loss of two dozen crew. The Arcer government acknowledged it was carrying weapons and other materiel required for the Levantian war effort, but it reminded Caphiria that Arcerion was both neutral and the ship was privately owned and operated. Embattled, the Caphirian Consul conedd it was unfortunate but that the vessel was a legitimate military target. Arceiron expelled the Consul via rail, however his expulsion was leaked in the [[Kinnaird Financial Times]], and he required escort from members of the [[Royal Arcerion Constabulary]] to avoid being assailed on his exit. The Arcer government also sent telegrams and diplomatic letters to the Capetian government, who were now emboldened with several divisions and a fledgling armed forces, which rebuked the claims as 'Capitalist Slander,' insisting Arcerion had made itself a combatant by supporting Urcea and its allies. | ||
Arcerion, believing that Caphiria was biding its time until it could finally close off the Songun Straits and use The Cape as its Cronan base of operations, sent a telegram to the Urcean Defense Attache in the New Archduchy, requesting a diplomatic presence in Arcerion with requisite defense officials to begin secret plans for "joint defense of economic and sovereign interests." | Arcerion, believing that Caphiria was biding its time until it could finally close off the Songun Straits and use The Cape as its Cronan base of operations, sent a telegram to the Urcean Defense Attache in the New Archduchy, requesting a diplomatic presence in Arcerion with requisite defense officials to begin secret plans for "joint defense of economic and sovereign interests." | ||
| Line 78: | Line 76: | ||
Paulastra, while ambivalent, shared a significant land border with both Arcerion and the Cape. With all things being equal, Arcerion's economy and shared interest in Washakara was likely to have them leaning in the favour of the Confederates in Arcerion. To the East and South, St. Brendan's Strait and the Polynesian Sea represented two large maritime areas of operation that the Capetian navy was fundamentally underequipped and resource to effectively fight in, as a fledgling green water navy with outdated First Great War vessels. Lastly, in the Songun, the [[Royal Arcerion Naval Service]] and the other elements of the Arcer Armed Forces had distinct advantages - a limited frontage along the southern edge of Moorden Governorate, as well as a safe area to base ships out of in the Malentine Basin. Arcerion also could rely on their economic ties with Paulastra to keep the Kingdom out of the war, and the rail lines and ports of the New Archduchy to keep the Odoneru sea lines of communication to Levantia open. | Paulastra, while ambivalent, shared a significant land border with both Arcerion and the Cape. With all things being equal, Arcerion's economy and shared interest in Washakara was likely to have them leaning in the favour of the Confederates in Arcerion. To the East and South, St. Brendan's Strait and the Polynesian Sea represented two large maritime areas of operation that the Capetian navy was fundamentally underequipped and resource to effectively fight in, as a fledgling green water navy with outdated First Great War vessels. Lastly, in the Songun, the [[Royal Arcerion Naval Service]] and the other elements of the Arcer Armed Forces had distinct advantages - a limited frontage along the southern edge of Moorden Governorate, as well as a safe area to base ships out of in the Malentine Basin. Arcerion also could rely on their economic ties with Paulastra to keep the Kingdom out of the war, and the rail lines and ports of the New Archduchy to keep the Odoneru sea lines of communication to Levantia open. | ||
====Capetian response==== | ====Capetian response==== | ||
[[File:Capetian troops drilling.png|thumb|Former Republican paramilitary march as new conscripts in the NRA.]] | [[File:Capetian troops drilling.png|thumb|Former Republican paramilitary march as new conscripts in the NRA.]] | ||
| Line 84: | Line 81: | ||
Caphiria would become incensed at the Arcer declaration, viewing it as a hostility towards its interests in the Cape. Caphirian naval command also grew concerned as closing St. Brendan's Strait from Urcean and Levantine forces was a critical component in their strategy to choke off the Odoneru. | Caphiria would become incensed at the Arcer declaration, viewing it as a hostility towards its interests in the Cape. Caphirian naval command also grew concerned as closing St. Brendan's Strait from Urcean and Levantine forces was a critical component in their strategy to choke off the Odoneru. | ||
=== The Ænglic Alliance === | === The Ænglic Alliance === | ||
''Main Article: [[Alstin in the Second Great War]]'' | ''Main Article: [[Alstin in the Second Great War]]'' | ||
| Line 103: | Line 99: | ||
''Main article: [[Operation Lightfoot]]'' | ''Main article: [[Operation Lightfoot]]'' | ||
In June of 1936, Arcerion had finished preparations for the invasion of the Cape and sent an Army Corps to land in the Cape and the Northern Islands, to both destroy their military infrastructure, and with the eventual goal of seizing Cape Town and the Southern ports from which the majority of the [[National Revolutionary Navy]] had been operating. The operation was earmarked by the largest air landing of paratroopers in the war, with three concurrent naval landings, two on the Cronan mainland and one on the Northern Islands. The early phases of the operation were an unmitigated success. | In June of 1936, Arcerion had finished preparations for the invasion of the Cape and sent an Army Corps to land in the Cape and the Northern Islands, to both destroy their military infrastructure, and with the eventual goal of seizing Cape Town and the Southern ports from which the majority of the [[National Revolutionary Navy]] had been operating. The operation was earmarked by the largest air landing of paratroopers in the war, with three concurrent naval landings, two on the Cronan mainland and one on the Northern Islands. The early phases of the operation were an unmitigated success. | ||
Outnumbered Capetian conscripts began to shatter and break, and drives inland saw great success for Arcer forces. Capetian commanders achieved mixed successes with counterattacks and defensives, with those that had survived the purges or had Caphirian training and support often providing stiff resistance against Arcer troops, inflicting heavy losses before they were forced to retreat. However, the majority of post-purge Capetian officers, chosen for political reliability and loyalty, sent waves of troops into fruitless attacks or sited poor defensive positions allowing numerically inferior Arcer soldiers to destroy them. | Outnumbered Capetian conscripts began to shatter and break, and drives inland saw great success for Arcer forces. Capetian commanders achieved mixed successes with counterattacks and defensives, with those that had survived the purges or had Caphirian training and support often providing stiff resistance against Arcer troops, inflicting heavy losses before they were forced to retreat. However, the majority of post-purge Capetian officers, chosen for political reliability and loyalty, sent waves of troops into fruitless attacks or sited poor defensive positions allowing numerically inferior Arcer soldiers to destroy them. | ||
| Line 109: | Line 105: | ||
Via the [[Ceylonia|Ceylonian consulate]], the Cape received diplomatic notice from Arcerion, supported by the navies of Burgundie and Alstin, that the invasion would continue until the Cape capitulated, expelled all Caphirian forces from its land, and submitted to an occupation by Urcean and allied forces for the duration of the war. | Via the [[Ceylonia|Ceylonian consulate]], the Cape received diplomatic notice from Arcerion, supported by the navies of Burgundie and Alstin, that the invasion would continue until the Cape capitulated, expelled all Caphirian forces from its land, and submitted to an occupation by Urcean and allied forces for the duration of the war. | ||
===Formation of the National Reclamation Government=== | ===Formation of the National Reclamation Government=== | ||
{{Quote box | {{Quote box | ||