Second Great War: Difference between revisions

Beginning in the 17th century, [[Urcea]] and the [[Holy Levantine Empire]] began to directly confront [[Caphiria]] and worked proactively to prevent its spread into [[Levantia]]. The Levantine powers began intervene in various conflicts and international incidents on [[Sarpedon]], which [[Venceia]] had long considered its prerogative. In the [[Veltorine War of Independence]] in the 1770s and 1780s, [[Urcea]] on behalf of the [[Holy Levantine Empire]] intervened, aiding the eastern provinces of [[Caphiria]] in their quest to secede. Not only did [[Caphiria]] lose that war, losing much of its eastern territory to the new nation of [[Veltorina]], but [[Urcea]] gained the new Kingdom of [[Talionia]], giving the Levantines a toehold in [[Urlazio]]. Out of these developments, the conspiracy theory of [[Levantine Creep]] developed - and Caphirian policymakers were determined to make any moves necessary to disrupt and dislodge the Levantine powers, actions it claimed to take in self defense.

During the First Great War, Urcea's ruling regent, [[Gréagóir FitzRex]], found it prudent to secretly promise cession of [[Talionia]] to [[Caphiria]] in exchange for continued military support of his regime. Once FitzRex was removed from power in [[1902]], Caphiria began to prepare an invasion of the territory, but the final Legitimist victory in Urcea combined with the end of fighting abroad canceled the campaign. The broken promise had the effect of significantly agitating notions of [[Levantine Creep]] and general anti-Levantine sentiment among Caphiria's ruling class. Although it ended the war having successfully conquered Veltorina, Talionia remained a threat that Caphiria would spend decades attempting to address.

In [[1911]], [[Magasevetus]] became [[Imperator]] of Caphiria. The 1910s were a period of significant domestic reform in Caphiria, temporarily halting its foreign ambition. The decade specifically focused on the integration of Caphiria's new territories, as Magasevetus and his advisors deemed it prudent to develop what it already had. Caphiria had also felt the effects of the [[Great Depression]], and although many hawks sought a second confrontation with the Levantines, Magasevetus sought to avoid conflict for the time being. In the 1920s, however, Caphiria was once again ready to begin agitating towards unifying [[Imperial_Diplomacy_(Sarpedon)#Imperial_space|Greater Caphiria]]. In the late 1920s, it began to spend significant funds on rearmament in preparation for military conflict within the next decade. Caphirian leaders knew the parameters of the next war would be greatly different than the first one, as Urcea was unified and possessed a modern, capable military. Accordingly, keeping Urcea distracted once again as it went to war in Sarpedon was the greatest foreign policy priority of Caphiria. In [[1928]], the "Ten Year Plan" was adopted, envisioning a strategy of engagement with [[Derian identity|Deric nationalists]] to terminally undermine the [[Holy Levantine Empire]] and distract [[Urcea]] to the extent that Caphirian annexation of [[Talionia]] would have to be accepted as a ''fait accompli''. It was necessarily assumed in the Ten Year Plan that Caphiria would also be waging a defensive war against Cartadania and Pelaxia, as Caphirian leaders correctly assumed that both were chafing under post-First Great War Caphiric hegemony. The initial Ten Year Plan presumed that neither nation were a military threat to Caphiria, a decision many historians have referred to as a "grave afterthought".  

The invasion of Talionia would also have unintended consequences on the eastern theater of the conflict. Urcea had been preparing a three-corps sized Oriental Expeditionary Force (OEF) at the request of [[Burgundie]] to help provide enough manpower across [[Alshar]] and [[Audonia]] in order to allow the Burgoignesc to go over into the offensive. The OEF was officially canceled on 6 February and instead slated to redeploy to Urlazio. In order to meet the needs of the Burgoignesc, however, Urcean diplomats [[Second_Great_War#Fiannria_and_Urcea_swap_places|reached a novel solution]]. Urcea induced [[Fiannria]] to deploy its garrison forces in [[Soirwind]], which were considerable, in support of Burgundie. The influx of Fiannrian manpower by March would stabilize the far eastern front.

By 15 February, Urcea was without an overriding strategic vision. Although it was now gearing up for total war, as principal allied combatant in [[Urlazio]] and [[Dericania]] it presently had insufficient resources to achieve victory on either front, and for a month Urcean military leaders had been fighting just to preserve status quo in both theaters. [[Brian IV of Urcea|King Brian IV]] and leaders in the [[Concilium Daoni]] intervened, calling senior military leaders to [[Castle Welute]] on 15 February. At the "Castle Conference," it was decided that Urcean forces must secure victory in Dericania first before engaging with Caphiria in a broader global conflict. A Dericania-first strategy necessarily required a status quo, defensive strategy to be fought in [[Talionia]]. Dericania first was adopted, in part, because of Urcea's diplomatic obligations to its [[Holy Levantine Empire|Imperial colleagues]], but also due to the calculus that the [[Deric Republic]] could be vanquished first. Accordingly, the Conference determined that the canceled Oriental Expeditionary Force would be sent to Urlazio, but no additional major reinforcements to that theater of the war would be forthcoming. Until fully mobilization was achieved, the size of the Army tripled, and victory appeared likely in Levantia, Talionia would largely be on its own. The Oriental Expeditionary Force would arrive in mid March, just in time for the upcoming Caphirian offensive there.

As of 2 January [[1935]], it was evident to leadership in [[Caphiria]] that the [[Ten Year Plan (Caphiria)|Ten Year Plan]] was proceeding more or less exactly as envisioned. The [[Urcea]]n [[Royal and Imperial Army (Urcea)|Royal and Imperial Army]] was nearly entirely tied down in [[Dericania]] putting down the [[Deric Republic|Deric Republican revolution]] there. Its primary allies, [[Fiannria]] and [[Burgundie]], both faced existential threats in [[Levantia]] and abroad. It appeared the moment had arrived to execute the primary thrust of the Plan, the invasion of [[Talionia]]. Caphirian forces had been preparing for some time in [[Urlazio]] and were ready to begin an offensive. The decision to launch said offensive was ultimately tied up in several assumptions. At this point in the fighting, Caphirian leaders viewed it as basically assured that Urcea would not fight to reclaim Talionia if it were overrun. Additionally, though the Ten Year Plan had accounted for them being included in the war, Caphiria did not believe [[Cartadania]] and [[Pelaxia]] would intervene on behalf of the allies. The reasons for this are hotly debated among historians and unclear in correspondence and surviving official documents from the time, but it appears that both [[Galdo Bertocca]] and [[Magasevetus]] believed that the greatly weakened Burgundie presented too much of a risk to Cartadania and Pelaxia. Additionally, it seems that Caphirian intelligence had determined neither nation were mobilizing despite officially being at war in [[Alshar]] and [[Audonia]] with [[Daxia]], suggesting that their political and social will to support Burgundie was lukewarm at best. Accordingly, Caphiria deviated from the Ten Year Plan and deployed many forces intended to protect its western border in Urlazio instead, hoping that the additional concentration of forces would allow Talionia to be overrun quickly.

====Invasion of Talionia====

With its forces in place and decisions made, Caphiria formally declared war on the Kingdom of [[Talionia]] - but not [[Urcea]] - on 17 January 1935, beginning its invasion the same day. This declaration was considered a diplomatic ruse in order to portray Urcea and Burgundie, who would clearly declare war on Caphiria in response, as the aggressors in the coming conflict. Urcea and Burgundie obliged on 18 January, and Caphiria declared war on both on 20 January. The entrance of Caphiria into the conflict precipitated the beginning of commitment to total war and mass mobilization in Urcea, including conscription; these measures had been implemented in Burgundie a month previously. After significant internal political debate, [[Cartadania]] and [[Pelaxia]] jointly declared war on Caphiria on 25 January, honoring their treaty obligations. This declaration caught Caphiria by surprise, requiring the offensive operations in Talionia to halt after a week as portions of its offensive force would be diverted to Caphiria's western border, precipitating a total reorganization of forces. On 27 January, [[Vachena]] joined Caphiria and declared war on all the allies, expanding the northwestern front of the war in Sarpedon.

The first week of advances had seen the [[Imperial Legion (Caphiria)|Imperial Legion]] destroy twelve of the forty divisions of the Talionian Royal Army, taking roughly a third of the Kingdom's pre-war borders and much of its economic base. Six corps of the [[Urcea]]n [[Royal and Imperial Army (Urcea)|Royal and Imperial Army]] were pulled from [[Dericania]], but the first units would not arrive for a week and a half from the date of the invasion. Accordingly, the Talionian Army conceded further territory to pull back into defensive positions closer to the [[Sea of Canete]]. The Caphirian advance halted on 25 January to reorganize its forces following the entrance of Pelaxia and Cartadania, allowing the Talionians precious time to reorganize themselves, entrench, and provide time for the Royal and Imperial Army to arrive. Caphirian forces resumed their advance by 29 January but faced stiff resistance, bolstered by additional divisions of the Royal and Imperial Army which arrived daily. By 7 February, the Imperial Legion was functionally halted and lost its initiative. The initial invasion of Talionia had destroyed around a quarter of the Talionian Army about half of the country and almost all of its interior portions but failed to deliver a "knock out blow" to the Talionian defenders, now supplemented by Royal and Imperial Army forces. In the subsequent lull in the fighting, Urcea's would-be [[Second_Great_War#Divided_attention|Oriental Expeditionary Force]] arrived in Talionia. The three corps force combined with the six corps on the ground and outstanding twenty eight divisions of the Talionian Royal Army to form the Department of the Odoneru, an ad hoc formation command that would be responsible for allied operations in eastern Urlazio for the rest of the war. The new command redeployed most of its forces to strong defensive positions around the coast, where the ships of the [[Royal Navy (Urcea)|Royal Navy]] could provide fire support as well as consistent resupply.

The first month and a half of the war in mainland Sarpedon was characterized by low level skirmishing. Beginning with the declarations of war by the western allies in late July, both the allies and Caphiria were generally unprepared for large scale fighting. The western allies declared immediate mobilization, which would take time, while the Caphirians were caught generally unaware and had to divert a significant portion of its concentrated forces in [[Urlazio]] west. Both sides took advantage of the other's general unpreparedness with quick strategic raids, destroying power plants, railway junctions, and other important infrastructure in the borderlands. Cartadania, in particular, used a high volume of these small raids to shield their true intentions, namely, a major buildup on their border with [[Vachena]] rather than on the Caphirian border. Caphirian and Vachenan intelligence both believed that a major Cartadanian offensive into western Caphiria or along the Urlazian border were imminent, both due to successful deception as well as the belief that the allies sought to relieve pressure on Talionia. The potential additional requirements to the west induced Caphiria to launch one last major Urlazian offensive on 18 March, which failed to destroy the Kingdom but succeeded in bottling up allied forces along a narrow front.

Cartadanian military leaders viewed their deception as largely complete by 20 March with the 18 March offensive on Talionia. Cartadania's true intentions became clear on 24 March when the majority of the country's forces crossed the [[Vachena]]n border, beginning a full invasion of the country. The Vachenan military was largely caught unprepared, and by 27 March they had withdrawn about 75 miles from the border to the next available defensive line. The invasion had the effect of frustrating Caphirian aims of continuing to concentrate resources on Talionia. In order to relieve pressure on Vachena, a large number of Imperial Legion divisions were ordered to western Urlazio on 26 March. Legion commanders, under pressure from political leaders in Venceia, organized a general offensive against the Cartadanian provinces of [[Triessa]] and [[São Andreas]] to begin no later than 5 April 1935. The resulting offensive, hastily assembled, began on 5 April as intended with significant logistical and operational issues. Despite the issues, the Caphirian offensive on Urlazio is believed by many historians to have potentially saved Vachena from being completely knocked out of the war at this relatively early juncture, requiring a halt of Cartadanian offensive operations in the country by 7 April.

Caphiria entering the war in the Occident significantly complicated Urcea's plans to reinforce Burgoignesc possessions in the east. The Burgoignesc still required additional manpower and unit flexibility in order to switch to the offensive in most parts of the continent. The [[Second_Great_War#Divided_attention|Oriental Expeditionary Force]] of the [[Royal and Imperial Army (Urcea)|Royal and Imperial Army]] was formed for this purpose, but were subsequently diverted to [[Talionia]]. Accordingly, Urcean political and military leaders sought other solutions to provide additional resources to the Burgoignesc in the east. On 18 February the Urcean government suggested to [[Fiannria]] that it should deploy most of its sizable [[Soirwind]] colonial garrison further south in support of Burgoignesc possessions. While Fiannria met this proposal with lukewarm reaction at best, Urcea offered two inducements for doing so. First, it suggested that the Royal Navy's interdiction of Caphirian supplies to [[Faneria]] would be "delayed", in part due to difficulties in the east. Second, it gave Fiannria a promise of a future delivery of an equivalent number of rifles and infantry supplies to those men currently deployed in Soirwind as well as a significant cash delivery immediately. The thinly veiled threat of no naval assistance combined with cash sufficiently persuaded the Fiannrian government, and on 28 February 1935 the Fiannrian garrison in Soirwind began to mobilize for an upcoming deployment south.