Uldarash Civil War

The Uldarash Civil War (November 5, 2021 - January 2, 2022) was a conflict fought in Uldarash between the states of the Second Empire of Uldarash, those loyal to the Empress Nikephoros (including Aurora, Boulderov, Chevkri, Mithusu, and Alokhrad), against Loyalist Uldarash and those loyal to Empress Caterina (including Alfheim, Montroig, and briefly Nullaria). The war eventually turned into an international conflict through foreign support for both sides of the war, including troops from as far as Eldham.

The war ended in the signing and ratification of the Treaty of Terroja by the Loyalist Uldarash High Council, and the leaders of its sub-nations, Alfheim and Montroig, resulting in their surrender. The Uldarash Civil War was the longest war in both Rathnir and Eldham's history, lasting nearly two months before its resolution.

Causes of secession
In the Empire of Uldarash there lay two separate Emperors in its Dual-Monarchy system. Upon the death of the First Empire of Uldarash, it was stated that the dynasty of the SpiritKnights (Uldarash's founders) would live on through the Aurorans, a migratory state that originated from the Eastern side of Rathnir after fleeing Escharien, and the line of House Aurorii, a family who shared their values. The second Emperor's seat was decided to be an elected one, with this emperor being elected by the High Council of Uldarash, comprised of representatives from all the Uldarashi states, and the High Council's advisors. In June, Empress Caterina (aka Qwaser) was elected to be the Empress of Uldarash. Sometime later, the Hereditary Emperor Aurelian was replaced by Empress Nikephoros.

As time passed, Empress Caterina went on to push for several Democratic reforms and a set of values that were unsavory to some in the Uldarashi government. After a couple months of these reforms and reformation attempts, an unknown amount of council members, military officers, and members of various historical and pro-monarchist organizations, such as the Talawan Academic Society (TAS), had decided enough was enough. In an event called "The Orange Night"— Empress Caterina was deposed. This was done largely without consulting some members of the Uldarashi Government, which spiked internal tensions. In response, Caterina's legal team shot back with an accusation of treason against former Emperor Aurelian, Rakia Knight son of former Emperor Tequlia, and Lakka Viueli, leader of the aforementioned Talawan Academic Society (TAS) for the coup. Several, particularly from the Democratic state of Montroig, who had just had their elected leader exiled on false charges, supported these accusations and called for a fair trial of Caterina. But an Imperial trial was never held, leading to Montroig holding their own trial, though this is recognized by nobody besides those who were already supporters of Caterina, and ultimately did nothing. Eventually, tensions fell, but after another sudden call for a fair trial, tensions sparked once more. After a lack of response from the Uldarashi government, Caterina declared herself the sole, true Empress of Uldarash, and seceded with Alfheim and Montroig. Thus began the Uldarashi Civil War.

Domestic reaction
Each of Uldarash's sub-nations immediately issued statements either supporting or condemning Caterina and the Loyalist states secession. ScotchKnight and Gamerblox2077, Queen of Sanctuary and King of Alokhrad respectively, immediately stated that the secession was simply a "power grab", to which the leaders of Savernia, Chevkri, and Boulderov quickly responded to with agreement, and pledged their support to the Second Empire of Uldarash and Nikephoros. Montroig declared its support for Caterina, albeit unconstitutionally without holding a vote, but outside of Montroig, only TheAsianAimbot, Prime Minister of Alfheim, pledged her support and the support of her nation to the Loyalists, being the only other direct-democracy in Uldarash.

International reaction
Upon hearing of the Civil War, many nations went to take sides, whether against Caterina, for Caterina, or neutral in all regards. Escharia, Huitca, Bardonia, The Confederacy of Ummarnu, and the Grand Sorgliste Federation all made national announcements backing Caterina, whilst Nikephoros gained support from the South Seas pact, a new alliance consisting of Tortuga - a historical ally of the Uldarashi state before the war, as well as Aldovir and Aatyeli.

Eldham Entente involvement
Following the Boardwalk incident and subsequent scandal perpetrated by the Kingdom of Aurora, the Eldham Entente declared the beginning of the Auroran-Entene War, though they initially declared neutrality in the ongoing Civil War. However, the Entente was working closely with the Loaylists, as evidenced by when the Entente invaded mainland Aurora in the Battle of Fornost on November 27th, 2021, with the Loyalists fighting alongside them. On November 29th, 2021, the Entente officially announced their [previously unofficial] support for Empress Qwaser_ of Loyalist Uldarash, and denounced the Second Empire of Uldarash, calling it the "Auroran Empire". While most of the Entente's fighting had been oversea in Eldham colonies of Uldarash nations, including Chevkri and Boulderov states, they contributed significantly to the Loyalists in terms of supplies and training.

Economic impact
The economy of both Loyalist states (Alfheim and Montroig) nearly collapsed during the war. There were multiple reasons for this: the blockage of major roads and supply lines by fortifications, nearly all their money being spent on war materials and supplies for the armed forces, and supplies being stolen by soldiers on both sides. By the end of the war, it was estimated that the Loyalists lost nearly 5,000,000 dollars in armor and weapons alone, not including loot stolen during the Battle of Terroja and the money lost from scrapping Montroig's plans to build a large market in Tiatua on the Hapatmitas highway, which runs from Boulderov all the way up to Hapatmitas and passes through half of the countries in Uldarash.

In comparison, the 2nd Empire fared better, but still faced their own issues. Thanks in large part to Auroran logistics, Imperial Uldarash was able to keep its troops supplied with the necessary military gear. However, the Empire suffered due to a large debt acquired when paying the Eldham Entente to leave Rathnir and Haven. But thanks to Robot_Girlyman and ScotchKnight, who paid over half the debt due to their actions, the 2nd Empire was able to continue its normal economic operations post war.

Diplomacy
During the beginning of the war, the Imperials were backed by three nations; Tortuga, Aldovir, and Aatyeli. On the opposing side, the Loyalists were backed by four nations; Escharia, Bardonia, the Huitca Federation, the Grand Sorgliste Federation and Yimmu-Audal. This caused anger within the Second Empire of Uldarash, with many of its citizens and leaders believing the Loyalists would allow their foreign backers to colonize Haven if they won. Keeping foreign influence out of haven was one of the key founding goals of Uldarash, and this was seen as a direct violation of everything the First and Second Empires stood for. However, three of Loyalist Uldarash's allies pulled out all support following the massive defeat at the Hapatmitas-Chevkri Campaign on November 21, 2021. Escharia remained and continued aiding the Loyalists until December 8, 2021, due to a civil war breaking out in their own nation, which forced them to withdraw all support to quell their own conflict. The Eldham Entente and Ardat Azael also briefly aided the Loyalists, but they left as soon as they felt they had dealt a blow to Aurora and left after a significant sum was paid to them to leave the conflict.

Eastern theater
The Eastern theater refers to the original offensive military operations launched by Imperial Uldarash into Loyalist territory to quell the rebellion. This terminology is due to the two Loyalist nations (Alfheim and Montroig) being in eastern Haven.

Loyalist forces
The Loyalist forces defending Montroig were led by Foubrac, who was serving as the General-in-Chief of the Armies of Loyalist Uldarash, along with Empress Caterina who was regarded as the de facto overall Commander-in-Chief of Loyalist Uldarash. All allied forces, including those coming from the Huitca Federation, Escharia, and Yimmu-Audal were placed directly under the control of the Loyalist leadership.

Imperial forces
The Imperial Forces in these campaigns were commanded directly by the Empresses of the Second Empire of Uldarash, Nikephoros and the newly elected ScotchKnight. Canine14, Rakia Ganeff, Xrelious, and Ted Hastings served as commanders during battles, but the Imperial forces were overall led by the Empresses.

Battles
The opening battle of the Uldarash Civil War took place on the island of Canine (no relation to Canine14), for which the Battle of Canine gets its name. Though each side sent an equal number of troops, the fight ended in a massive defeat for the Loyalists, with 42 Loyalists deaths to merely 4 Imperial deaths, which some believed was a sign for what was to come later in the war. Despite this, morale remained high within the Loyalist states, with many citing how the Battle of Canine did not actually count towards anything in the war, and was merely for fun. Additionally, it is of note that this battle serve as a testing grounds for a new war system for the server, which would be altered several more times over the course of the conflict as the admins tried to work out what functioned best.

The Battle of Terroja was the first 'official' battle of the civil war, which ended in a similar manner as the Battle of Canine, resulting in a massive Loyalist defeat. The final kill count, including the Battle of Northport (see below) came out to be 135-1 in favor of Imperial Uldarash. Much of the defeat was credited towards poor communications from the Loyalist leadership, which would be shown time and time again to be a major issue within the secessionist state's leadership, one they would never learn from. The battle only served to increase the morale of Loyalist soldiers, barring a few deserters, and the Loyalists now wanted to get back at the Imperials for attacking the capital city of Montroig and the de facto capital city of Loyalist Uldarash.

The Battle of Northport occurred at the same time as the Battle of Terroja, and took place on a much smaller scale. A small detachment of troops from Alfheim clashed with Auroran soldiers on the outskirts of the city, killing one armed civilian in exchange for the loss of their entire force. The armed civilian was the only Uldarashi death of the day, and they quickly became a hero of Auroran propaganda & folklore known as the Iron Warrior, a selfless hero who bought enough time for the Aurorans to redeploy to Northport and repel the attackers. This validity of the story is debated, with some believing the civilian was killed instantly and a small platoon of imperial troops simply happened to be passing by at the same time by sheer luck, although a memorial has been constructed in honor of the "iron warrior" outside the town.

Western theater
The Western theater refers to the offensive military operations launched by Loyalist Uldarash, due to most of the battles taking place west of Loyalist Uldarash's territory, with the sole exception of the Second Battle of CoolioCity.

Loyalist forces
The primary Loyalist forces in the Western theater were commanded by Montroig's Minister of Defense, Bukharin "BuckTootha" Turrin, with other commanders including Argon Retter and Qwaser, who both commanded divisions deploying into CoolioCity, and TheAsianAimbot, who commanded the main assault force on Hapatmitas.

The Eldham Entente's expeditionary force were led by their own commanders from Eldham, and were not placed under the command of the Loyalist military. These commanders included Neo, ElKool, Creamy, and Imperius, among others.

Imperial forces
The Imperial Uldarash forces were led chiefly led by Ted Hastings and 6alaxxy, who commanded the defense at the Battle of Hapatmitas and the Battle of Fornost, respectively. Empress Nikephoros was also the chief commander during CoolioCity's defense.

Battles
Although the last three battles ended in massive defeats for the Loyalists, their confidence, at least in their command, remained. They were so confident, in fact, that their next plan was a grand offensive on both Hapatmitas, the de jure capital city of the Second Empire of Uldarash, located just outside of Uldarash's sub-nations on the Hatanimitas Peninsula. The Loyalists also targeted CoolioCity, a relatively small Bordertown in Chevkri that was the sight of a previous battle during the Chevkri-Montroig border dispute. Large numbers of elite fighters, including the first troops from the Eldham Entente, were assembled on both sides, and up until the last minute of preparations, it seemed the battles could have gone either way, with an extremely high belief from the Loyalist forces that they would win on at least one front.

Both battles of the campaign ended with the defeat of the Loyalists, and caused most foreign nations backing the Loyalists to withdraw their support, leaving only Escharia as their sole foreign ally. The failed campaign destroyed nearly all faith in the Loyalist's military leadership and many Loyalists began to adopt a defeatist attitude towards the war.

Following the intervention of the Eldham Entente into the war, the Loyalists gained their only victory of the entire war at the city of Fornost, capital of Aurora, which coincidentally, would be the last large-scale conflict fought in the war. With 72 Imperial deaths and damage done to the city, the Loyalists finally felt they had dealt a blow to Imperial Uldarash. The battle eventually resulted in the Treaty of Hakkinza, which essentially removed all support of the Eldham Entente from the Loyalists, greatly weakening the already weak nation. However, in a moment some may consider ironic, many of the Entente players were banned in the next few days...

Ceasefire and fragile peace
The Battle of Fornost was widely considered an Uldarashi defeat, and certainly dealt damage to the previously unwavering Uldarashi morale - Two states, Savernia and Nullaria, seceded from the empire in the period following the battle, and peace with the Eldham Entente (though not the Loyalists) was considered amongst the Imperial Uldarash council members. Burn out on both sides had been running high, leading to many of the final actions of both Loyalist and Imperial Uldarash. But the new Empress, Scotchknight led the way forward and peace talks with the Entente were concluded and a negotiation for the surrender of the Loyalists was initiated. Eldham's support for Caterina was only brought about by mutual interest, and their official position on the civil war had already changed twice, so when a treaty was signed stating that Aurora would pay double the original price of reparations, their support for Caterina's war was quickly retracted. The Eldham Entente were one of the last groups to aid Caterina after the disaster of the Hapatmitas-Chevkri Campaign.

Additionally, Escharia ended up withdrawing all support from Loyalist Uldarash due to their own civil war breaking out, which did not allow for them to spare any forces or equipment to the Loyalists. With the loss of their support, the Loyalists were officially on their own in the conflict.

No other battles were scheduled following the Battle of Fornost, and on December 15th, server administration initiated a two-week forced peace period due to the Christmas season, effectively banning all conflicts until after the start of the New Year. These two weeks of peace were widely regarded as squandered by the Loyalists, who didn't ramp up training until the last few days and used nearly none of it to rebuild their shattered economy, foreign relations, or civilian government.

End of the war
About a week after their secession, Savernia re-joined the Second Empire after resolving some internal affairs, and were afford the chance to regain their founder state status. Nullaria initially declared support for the Loyalists, but decided to withdraw their support and withdraw from the empire completely under Entente protection, seemingly noticing the writing on the wall. Uldarash was back up to full military strength (As Nullaria had no soldiers in the Uldarashi army that saw combat), and though the Loyalists had been training to create a powerful force that could have stood on par with many other nations in Rathnir, there was nothing they could do to match the strength of the Uldarashi army, especially against the Order of Aurora, mostly due to the incompetence or inexperience of the Loyalist's leadership. Following the end of the server wide forced-peace, peace talks and negotiations began between the two sides. Terms were dictated to the Loyalists and, after a long period of deliberation, accepted fully. Loyalist Uldarash surrendered unconditionally and signed The Treaty of Terroja on the 2nd of January, 2022. The effects of this saw the reabsorbing of Montroig and Alfheim back into the Empire, Caterina was to renounce her claim to the Uldarashi throne and banned her and any descendants from serving as Emperor, and the treaty placed the former Loyalists states under military governorship. None of the Loyalist's military leaders were exiled or tried following their defeat, as Empress ScotchKnight wished to see the brothers and sisters of Haven reunited and wanted to demonstrate kindness to the 2nd Empire's former foes. Only two people, Jack F. Kennedy and TheReaperTDM, were banned from Uldarash, neither of which held senior command positions in the Loyalist armed forces.

Aftermath
The war had utterly devastated the Loyalist states, primarily Montroig, economically, politically, militarily, and activity-wise. The war decimated both nation's military supplies, emptying all reserves and nearly rendering Alfheim and Montroig bankrupt. Many of Montroig's farms and artifacts were stolen or destroyed during the Battle of Terroja, and both nations were banned from holding a voting position on the Imperial High Council for a period of one month after they were re-absorbed, this time serving as part of the Loyalist's reintegration and probation time. The latter half of the war, essentially all the time following the forced-peace, also greatly diminished activity in both nations. With much of the focus being put on the war, but no actual battles occurring, allowed for very few resources to be dedicated to other projects. This had the effect of turning many players, new and old, away from the nations, the server, or experiencing burnout and loss of motivation.

Alfheim returned to prosperity far quicker than Montroig in the coming weeks, gaining a massive economy and beginning to mass-produce enchanted armor to sell to other nations. Alfheim also surpassed Montroig in population, nearly doubling its population. This was a huge blow to the already crumbling Montroig, which had been Rathnir and Eldham's largest democracy for nearly half a year at that point. Montroig continued down a spiral until mid-February 2022, where things began to stable out. By this point, however, the nation was considerably smaller and weaker than it had been prior to the Civil War.

The Imperial states, while in a better position than their loyalist counterparts, still suffered due to burnout, population loss, and debt. In paying the Eldham Entente off to leave the conflict in Haven, a considerable sum was owed to Robot_Girlyman, who paid half of the treaty's sum himself. However, through the grinding of the Imperial nation's leadership and the actions of ScotchKnight, the debt was eventually paid off and the Empire financially recovered. The end of the Civil War also brought about renewal to RP, building, and other projects, allowing citizens to breathe once more and enjoy the server.

Uldarash Civil War

 * Second Empire of Uldarash
 * Loyalist Uldarash
 * Army of Loyalist Uldarash
 * Uldarashi Schism
 * Montroig
 * Alfheim
 * Aurora
 * Eldham Entente

Other civil wars

 * Escharian Civil War
 * Simulami Civil War
 * Akratian Civil War
 * Aristii Civil War
 * Heldrak Civil War
 * Ahalian Civil War