Death war

A death war is a Stoneworks-native colloquialism describing a conventional conflict that is fought with the intention of one party completely destroying the other. A death war has many similarities to real-life strategies and forms of conflict such as total war, in the fact that any and all resources and infrastructure are considered legitimate military targets, and the the majority of the population of both parties is often mobilised alongside all of the resources of a society to fight the war, and gives priority to warfare over basic needs. Unlike other forms of warfare, a death war is often far more cost-inefficient and damaging to both parties than regular warfare, as once a death war is engaged it often does not cease until one has conquered every single settlement controlled by the other.

Characteristics
A most common characteristics of a death war are:


 * The extensive or complete destruction of civilian infrastructure in major cities (such as in Manzig or Vallava) regardless of their strategic importance.
 * Military spending on mercenaries or supplies totalling above $10,000,000 for each side.
 * Large scale ethnic cleansing or outright genocide which results in the departure of a certain ethnoreligious group from the occupied areas.
 * The war itself lasting over 2 months (or 25 IC years).
 * The culmination of the war resulting in the complete occupation or pacification of the territories of the losing party (in certain circumstances however, such as the Northport War, it has also been seen to make little to no territorial changes, mostly due to a stalemate & negotiated peace or conditional surrender).
 * The committing of various war crimes (such as no quarter, execution of PoWs, murder of civilians, looting, etc.) by both parties.
 * Vast economic reparations often more severe than the territorial losses to cover the excessive expenses of the winning party.

Other less common characteristics or side effects of death wars are:


 * Economic espionage or boycotting of international markets.
 * The construction of trenches completely surrounding cities of significant importance.
 * The destruction of civilian infrastructure by defending parties to set up defences.
 * Bombing of roads and supply hubs outside of the territory of the warring parties.
 * Guerrilla warfare or armed insurgency following the capitulation of a warring party.
 * Increased number of squatter settlements in occupied territory during & after the war.
 * Scorched-earth policies by retreating parties against their own or occupied cities.
 * The rapid advancement of technological discoveries in an effort to gain the upper hand against the opposing party.

2020-21
Historians debate over the origins of the death war, with some arguing that the earliest instance of a death war was the First Viper War in October/November 2020, where the Sewer Mafia was nearly destroyed & completely pacified by Ardat Mosul in what has been described as 'one of the most toxic wars in early Rathnir'. The pacification of Sewer Mafia would later be coined the 'Rape of Sewer Mafia' to indicate its clearly destructive nature. The first major war to display the majority of a death war's characteristics, however, would be the War of the Black Flag in August 2021, where a significant portion of Barbossa's infrastructure, especially in the capital of Kraken's Cove. Other wars from around this time, such as the First West March War & the Coalition-Ellysian Wars, would also meet some of the criteria of a death war. Wars later in 2021 such as the Uldarashi Civil War would also have aspects of a death war, especially during the Eldham Entente intervention and the Battle of Fornost, as the tactics associated with a death war became increasingly more common.

2022
The term 'death war' first began to be used to describe the Veldski Civil War in March 2022, despite it not meeting the modern criteria of a death war, as it was a relatively minor conflict with no immediate significant effect on any lands outside of Chumon Ito. The term would rise in prominence over the following months, however it would not be until June 2022 and the Northport War that the first death war by modern interpretations would come into fruition, with millions of dollars being spent by both sides on the war culminating in extensive damage to the city of Northport over the course of multiple months of on-and-off fighting. The first official usage of the term 'death war' to describe a conflict came during the Morladron-Sylvania War in August 2022, with over $20 million being spent on the war, involving 60% of Eldham's landmass. The Battle of Vallava would be one of the single most destructive events ever to occur during a conflict at the time, though it was quickly outdone by the Battle of Manzig during the Furry War & then the Second West March War, the longest war in Stoneworks history, taking place between August 2022 & January 2023, with the Siege of New Dorasterrock being one of the if not the most expensive battles in history, costing over $22 million for the Sixth Empire of Bardonia to defend the city during the 990 ACA Counteroffensive. The Siege of Manzig between July & September 2022 remains the single most expensive military effort in Stoneworks history, costing roughly $60 million.

2023
Death wars would become increasingly more common following the end of the Second West March War in January 2023, with the rise of mercenaries resulting in further increases to military spending by all nations engaging in warfare. The AWE-Atlechia War, taking place between May & August 2023, would see the modern interpretation of the concept of a death war come into fruition, with tens of millions of dollars being spent by the A.W.E. over 16 battles to take conquer every last settlement in Atlechia. Shortly after the fall of Atlechia, however, Eldham would dissolve into yet another death war, with the outbreak of the Clone War following the departure of Ashai from C.A.T.O and vast uprisings in the east of the A.W.E.'s newly-acquired territories. It is estimated that the Clone War will quickly surpass the Furry War as the most expensive & deadly war in Stoneworks history.