Northport War

The Northport War was a major conflict fought by the Kingdom of Aurora against the New Dorasterrock Accords/Alliance, with support from friendly states on both sides. It began when the N.D.A declared war on June 22, 2022, and although peace was not officially made until October 26th, all fighting had stopped by June 7th.

Tensions originated from many long standing rivalries between individuals and nations, going as far back as the Second Empire of Uldarash. These escalated when Ganeff, as the leader of Ganeffstan (a member state of the N.D.A), officially voiced his goals of reclaiming Northport.

The N.D.A which was numerically superior in terms of funding, supplies, and manpower when compared to Aurora was widely seen as the far more likely victor at the outset of the war. Aurora had been seen as in decline by others as it's population boom had long come to an end, as well as Aurora lacking major allies.

On July 28th, the N.D.A, having assembled the largest attacking force in the history of Rathnir and Eldham, launched a siege of Northport. Aurora and it's supporting nations had rallied an army of similar, although slightly smaller, size. Aurora's connections to Hasufel and Raiyuna on Eldham played a key role in bringing Aurora an additional large force of manpower. Groups of N.D.A soldiers began breaching the city within a few minutes of the battle's beginning, leading to intensive urban warfare and high casualties, particularly for the Aurorans. The battle ultimately ended in a stalemate. The battle continues to stand as the largest battle ever fought, just ahead of the Battle of Fornost.

The following second siege of Northport took place on July 7th, after the N.D.A had recouped, however during this time Aurora significantly improved defensive weaknesses which had been discovered in the last battle. The second battle saw significantly smaller armies from both groups, especially within the N.D.A armies. Communication and disorganization issues led to the attacking N.D.A to face large numbers of initial casualties, giving the Aurorans a decisive numerical advantage through the rest of the battle. Most fighting was concentrated at a single breach-point on Northport's East wall. The battle ended in a decisive Auroran victory, and the end of fighting between Aurora and the N.D.A.

Auroran victory was widely considered an upset, and lead to infighting and the eventual collapse of the N.D.A. Of the N.D.A nations directly participating in the war, the Imperium, and Viodoxa completely collapsed. Tortuga later lost the majority of its territory. Although none of these nations collapsed as a direct consequence of the war, many attribute the humiliating failure in the Northport War as one of the many causes.

October 26th 2022, Ganeff, and Aurelian, King of Aurora personally agreed to peace. This officially ended hostilities.

Tortuga
TBA

Ganeffs
Ganeffs declared war on Aurora with the expressed purpose of regaining Northport, the town he founded in March of 2021. Management of the town was given to his son, Ward at some point in late January or Early February 2022, though talks in Council indicate Ganeffs still held onto it until at least the 12th of February with the claim itself being owned by Sixes for an unknown amount of time. Eventually however, Ward became full owner of Northport, before he passed it to Sythe via Sinclair on the 13th of March. Ganeffs' role in the fall of Uldarash and his leading role in the Union of Haven led to him being removed from the Kingdom of Aurora. It was on this removal that Ganeffs justified his invasion of Aurora, aimed at freeing Northport from Auroran control.

This, however, was only the public justification for the war, as Ganeffs declared to his supporters that he intended to conquer Aurora completely. Ganeffs planned to rule the majority as a new kingdom, while some lands would be given away to other members of the NDA.

First Battle of Northport
By the time of the First Battle of the War, the odds appeared to be stacked in the NDA's favour. Aurora had gathered their allies and paid for mercenaries to equalise the numbers, but remained outnumbered. Northport had also been extensively fortified, surrounded by a massive pit and covered in traps.

The battle started relatively slowly, as the NDA attempted to make their first breach. Robot and Ganeffs were the first to go up to the walls, supposedly to talk with the defenders. NDA plans, however, had been leaked to the Aurorans, stating that this was a diversion for an attack. When they arrived at the edge of the pit, they were pushed in by a defender who had pearled onto their side, killing them both. Several attempts were made at claiming areas outside of the walls, but extensive use of fireballs by the defenders stopped most of them from succeeding.

The first major engagement came on the Southwest corner of the defensive wall. The area was highlighted by Aurorans as a weak spot in the defences before the battle, as it was very easy to bridge to, but they didn't have enough time to fix it before the battle. The first group of attackers who breached the walls were driven back, but the second attempt successfully broke through into the market area of the city. A large battle ensued there and in the boarded-up canals, which the NDA won.

Once the first breach had been made, the NDA began a slow process of clearing through Northport street by street, until the final fight of the battle occurred in and around the Northport town hall. The NDA got onto the roof, but the Aurorans were in control of the lower sections of the town hall by the end of the battle. As a result, the NDA technically won the Battle of Northport, as they had gained more kills, but made no progress towards capturing the city. The city had been damaged extensively in the fighting, but the Aurorans had held.

Second Battle of Northport/Battle of Savras
By the time of the second battle, the strength of the NDA had waned significantly. Tortuga had exited the war, taking all of their fighters with them. All other nations remained, but each of them also provided less troops than before, as motivation to continue fighting dropped. The Aurorans, eager to not lose their homes, remained motivated; though they also brought less troops, they had lost a much smaller percentage overall. This time the Aurorans decided to take the offensive as well as defending Northport, striking the enemy base at Savras. The Second and Third Auroran Corps made extensive use of hit-and-run tactics throughout the battle - arriving at Savras, killing the garrison, then returning to Northport when the NDA's best soldiers arrived to fight them. The defence of the city itself was also successful, as the NDA struggled to get out of the breach they made in the wall. The NDA managed to get a lot of kills by pushing people into the massive pit that surrounded the city, but it wasn't enough to substitute for their lack of progress. As the battle continued, the NDA's strength faltered, and eventually they were unable to send enough people to push the Aurorans out of Savras. By the end of the battle, the government building and cathedral of Savras were completely controlled by Aurorans, resulting in an Auroran victory.

Stalemate
The defeat at Savras caused major problems for the New Dorasterrock Accords. Another defeat along the lines of Savras would result in the complete loss of any town used in the war, which combined with the high requirements of a city capable of attacking Northport to make the potential risks of another battle exceedingly high. All nations involved wished to continue, but when all failed to provide a town the war entered into an official stalemate.

The leadership of the NDA remained as committed as ever to the continuation of the war, with the Imperium going so far as to announce the dissolving of any treaties they had with nations who were not at war with Aurora. At the lower levels of the NDA's constituent nations, however, the cracks were beginning to show.

The IAU was the second nation to exit the war. Their own war with Paradise had ended in a crushing defeat which sent the Union into disarray. They were removed from the NDA, and shortly thereafter collapsed into the Autokratoria Sirradra. They were followed by the Soleannen Imperium, which would largely be annexed by Certaria following Bardonia's declaration of independence. Both Certaria and the new Bardonian government were friendly to Aurora, reversing Aurora's position on the world stage in only a few short weeks.