Third Balkavanian War

The Third Balkavanian War was a defining war in the 200s that greatly reshaped the balance of power in the Balkavanians, gutting the once-powerful Nakorenta, and solidifying the EotLP as a true regional power

Formation of the Nakorentan Union & Death Squad

Krennic was crowned Emperor of the Empire of the Lego Plains on the 23^rd of 247, at the age of 80, to mixed opinions from the public. Many saw him as Ren’s natural successor, but others remembered how he had fought against the EotLP’s independence, and nearly won. He was also considered too old to rule effectively, or intelligently. Many Rennians felt as though Tiberius Rex, who had single-handedly practically ended the Etkian Coup, and had rightfully been Emperor for a short while, was a better leader for the EotLP than Krennic. Rex was appointed as General of the Rennian Armed forces by Krennic, the most powerful position in the country. Very quickly after his coronation, Krennic's health began to decline. Publicly, he named General Krennic as his First Vizier, and Privately, he named Rex as his successor. As his health further deteriorated, Rex began taking actions on behalf of the Emperor. This was immensely popular among the Rennian Population but was significantly less popular among the bureaucracy. However, Rex began a systematic re-population of the imperial bureaucracy, under the guise of streamlining the process for Emperor Krennic's orders to be implemented, but truthfully it cemented his position as the real authority across the EotLP. Among his first actions was to release much of the Government’s control over the private sector, which had forced the economy into focusing strongly on military products. This unusual economic focus didn't change instantly, though. Now more worried than ever of a Nakorentan attack, Military investment in the private sector actually skyrocketed, even as the Economy diversified, and people were given control of their assets & earned rewards. The economy began to balloon during this time, and plunged the nation into a sort-of Golden age that had just began as Ren’s reign came to an untimely end.

Nakorentan Stand-off

General Tiberius Rex, sure that the Nakorentan Union had been behind the Etkian Coup, began to invest heavily into a network of informants across the entire Balkavanians, but focused in Nakorenta. He expected that the Nakorentan Leader, Asil Kranost, and his Vladeza would not be satisfied to simply sit back and accept their defeat in the EotLP. In 249, he finalized a mutual defense treaty between the EotLP & Cklserolva, a major mark in the stand against the Nakorentan Union. In 250, Srebvona joined the alliance in response to Zempodlon’s annexation into the Nakorentan Union, and the EotLP began sending military aid & training to Verskaell, to help modernize their military, which was at that point an estimated 50 years behind its contemporaries. Buklirasakzi joined the alliance in 252. Representatives of the four nations began to meet on a monthly basis to discuss potential additions to the alliance and other cooperation between the member nations. In 254, Soramti tendered an offer to join as well, but before the request could be discussed by the member nations, they too fell to Nakorentan aggression. Reportedly, General Rex predicted at the next alliance meeting that war would break out within 5 years. Another straw snapped in 255, when Krjstendodi forces assisted Nakorentan forces in “stabilising” Hoketleri during an election, which became part of the Nakorentan Union later that year. The EotLP, Cklserolva, Srebvona, and Buklirasakzi all cut diplomatic ties with the EotLP’s northern Neighbour, Krjstendodjl, after the incident. In 256, Nakorenta’s neighbour, Kurazistan, joined the growing alliance, which had come to known as the “Balkavanian Sovereignty Legion”, or the BSL, or just the Legion. 257 saw Krjstendodjl join the Nakorentan Union, which had been a long time coming; they had never been a target of Nakorentan Death Corps because they had always been so cooperative with the Vladeza. By now war was on the brink. But the EotLP and the rest of the Legion was determined to do what they could to avoid a war. But that wouldn’t do anything to avoid the inevitability of war.

Early War

Invasion of Rennia

On the 28^th of 258, Air Raid Sirens in Rennia went off. But there was no threat in the skies. There was a Nakorentan Death Corps moving in from Gatograd. The Death Corps’ ship, the Allkiterrayid had spent the last few years patrolling the dispute waters between Krjstendodjl and Cklserolva, and had been using Gatograd as a port & base. Although the Rennian Military were on high alert, because the Death Corps had been in Gatograd for so long, no-one actually expected them to attack. The Rennian military began to scramble to assemble a defense, and the Death Corps began ravaging the countryside between the border and Rennia. Although the majority of the population in the invaded region sought shelter, the Death Corps lived up to their names; in the hour it took them to reach the capital, roughly 700 civilians were brutally murdered by the Death Corps. They reached Rennia, where the streets had been deserted, and began moving towards the center of the city, where Krennic’s Palace was. However, the Rennian military wasn’t about to let them get away with another round of Impericide. Pegasi were immediately dispatched from the Rennian Military Forces Base, who began to engage the Death Corps from above. Meanwhile, a division of R-100 Dragons were dispatched to engage the air support that came with the Death Corps. Ground Troops rushed to the center of Rennia, where their forces were supplemented by the Local Militia as well as Armed Police Forces. The Death Corps significantly slowed as they approached the centre of Rennia, but their 750 strong force continued to push forwards. However, as more Troops, helicopters, and large-scale weaponry began to arrive in Rennia, they were overwhelmed. Reportedly, their leader surrendered, expecting to be ransomed back to Nakorenta immediately, as they had been many times before. But their 1,000+ strong wake of dead civilians convinced the Rennian Command to ignore the surrender pleas. As they tried to surrender, the Death Corps were mowed down. Not one survived the Rennia encounter.

Declarations of War

The next day, on the 29^th of 258, Asil Kranost had his intelligence services send an anonymous text message directly to General Rex (who was the de facto leader of the EotLP in Krennic’s aged state) simply asking “How much for my prisoners.” Rex refused to be intimidated, though, and at 10:48 AM, responded to Kranost’s personal phone with two words, which would change the Balkavanians forever. “What Prisoners?” as soon as he sent the text, he gave the green light to the SRS Agaré Meleny, who fired three rounds of missile salvos, sinking the Allkiterrayid, and all 500 Death Corps members aboard. Invoking the mutual defense treaty, Cklserolva declared war on the Nakorentan Union on the 30^th of 258 at 06:48, followed a few hours later by Srebvona, Buklirasakzi, and Kurazistan, at 10:00, 11:00, and 11:31, respectively. The EotLP didn’t officially declare war until the 31^st, when all nine of Nakorenta’s vassal states made official declarations of war on every member of the Legion. Rennian, Cklserolvan, Srebvonan, Kurazi, and Buklirasak soldiers were mobilised, and their navies began moving into position for war. The mountains surrounding Kurazistan mostly neutralized the threat of an attack from Nakorenta proper, however, the annexed Mimodera shared a long, desert border with Kurazistan, and was expected to be where Nakorenta attacked from. Meanwhile, the EotLP and Cklserolva both bordered Krjstendodjl, where large Nakorentan Forces had been deployed, and the EotLP and Srebvona both bordered Hoketleri, where there were also large Nakorentan Reserves.

First Battles

The first battles broke out on the 31^st. On the Lonac Zaljev, naval forces of the Legion and the Union clashed. The Legion forces were made up of a Flotilla of 5 Rennian Ships & 7 Cklserolvan Ships, led by the SRS Agaré Meleny, and her captain, Rear Admiral Mía Di Knasto. They faced off against 8 Nakorenta-annexed Krjstendodi Vessels. The Rennian Northern Fleet and the Cklserolvan Southeastern Navy came into contact with the Union's forces around 07:00. Missile Salvos were exchanged from a distance, before the ships came into closer range. The SRS Legoia launched the majority of her aircraft, who began to strike the Krjstendodi ships from above. Under heavy barrage from the superior numbers of newer, superior ships, the Union flotilla quickly began to crumble. By 10:30, 6 Union ships had been sunk, one decisively captured, and one abandoned with heavy damage, which was dragged back to Rennia, to be salvaged by Legion forces. Mia Di Knasto had decisively won the first official engagement of the war.

On another front, Cklserolvan Forces from the 208th Royal Battalion stormed into Gatograd, taking the city with relative ease, losing only 31 men. After being surrounded, the majority of the Union forces in the city surrendered. Only 158 deaths on all sides were recorded in Gatograd on the 31st.

Union forces made significant headway into Srebvona on the 31st, despite the high mountains in the way, advancing almost 6 kilometers into the west of Srebvona before finally slowing down.

Cklserolvan Naval Forces met & clashed with Hoketlerian naval vessels around 16:10 on the 31st. Ten Hoketlerian vessels were sunk in the altercation, and only one Cklserolvan ship was sunk during the battle.

Kurazi and Union forces clashed all up their extensive border, but very little land changed hands, except in the very south, where the Union made significant headway into Kurazi land.

Dolzlatna declared war on the Legion on the 1^st of 259, and announced that Côte Blanche would also be joining the war on their side. The Côte Blanche Government clarified that they had no intentions of joining the war on either side a few hours later, however that desire was soon quashed, as Dolzlatnan forces flooded into the city-state. The government accepted the occupation as legal, and was given back a limited form of control over their nation.

Nakorenta's Northern Neighbour, Norasul, joined the war on the 1^st as well, tendering an offer to join the Legion, which was accepted quickly. Norasi and Union forces clashed later that day at many points along their border on both the mainland, as well as on a few other islands. A small Nakorentan Enclave was assimilated into Norasul, but Norasul's significant portion of the Ochak Baleka was taken on the 2^nd by Nakorentan Troops before Norasul could muster an effective defense, which solidified the Union's control of all naval access points to Zronägrad, the Capital of the Union.

Invasion of the EotLP

At the break of dawn, on the 2nd of 259, 4,000 Krjstendodi and Nakorentan Forces crossed the frontier into Eastern EotLP. The EotLP's border defenses, while quite extensive, were selectively targeted by Union Artillery and Air strikes in the early hours of the morning, before the land troops crossed the frontier, at three access points that had been cleared in the early morning. The Union Forces advanced nearly 37 Kilometers into Rennian Territory before grinding to a full halt, as they came up against the first line of Rennian Villages, and their associated Anti-tank Weaponry & Artillery Cover. Legion troops disembarked their vehicles and began to pitch in for the first set of battles. Rennian Artillery Fire kept them from advancing further everywhere except the far East of the EotLP, where Union forces swept in off the coast, and took significant gains. General Tiberius ordered the immediate deployment of L-325 Mastiff Tanks to the front lines. Despite the theoretical prowess that the Mastiff should have shown, their crew's inexperience and the Tank's low amount of pre-testing led to hard issues having to be learned in the first few days of the Invasion. 8 Mastiffs were destroyed upon first deployment, when they attempted to further stall the Enemy's advance by charging their lines. Unexpectedly, the Union's I-7 Quplon proved a formidable enemy. The Union's Mobile anti-tank weapons added to the mayhem. Very quickly, it became clear that neither side was going to break the land grid-lock easily.

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Death of Idkah Bintad & Ascension of Idkah Iasmyna

On the 2nd of 259, Asil Kranost ordered every one of the Union's bombers to bomb Tavergrad. It was a quickly and poorly planned operation, which resulted in 45 of the 50 bombers dispatched from Zronägrad being shot down within 15 kilometers of the frontier lines, by robust Kurazi Anti-Aircraft Defenses. However, the last 5 Bombers continued on their way, and successfully completed their bombing runs on Tavergrad. Casualties were low from the first run, but the Bombers clearly marked that they were aiming for the Royal Palace.

As the Kurazi Air Force scrambled to react to the Bombing Run, more and more bombs fell on the Tavergrad Palace, where security personnel were desperately trying to move Shaykh Idkah Bintad and his heir - Emira Idkah Iasmyna - to the safety Bunkers, which had not been properly prepped for invasion. The two were separated from each other to prevent them both being killed by a single bomb. Despite the best efforts of the Security personnel, the entrance to the bomb shelter was blocked by Debris, and the Sheikh was moved to the exterior of the palace, to try and get him away from the epicentre of the attack.

Unfortunately, a stray bomb struck the palace over were the Shaykh was taking cover, and the explosion and resulting collapse killed the Shaykh and his entire entourage.

By the time the Kurazi Air Force was mobilized and took down the bombers, they had already destroyed almost all of the palace, save a small exterior tower, and a block of rooms in the northwest corner of the palace. Idkah Iasmyna had sustained some injuries from falling debris, most notably a broken arm. She made the announcement of the Shaykh's death that evening, and was coronated the following day as the Shaykhah of Kurazistan & her Territories, Commander of the Kurazi Military, and protector of Tavergrad. By all accounts, Iasmyna was a most well qualified leader, who cared deeply for her people, and was well versed in terms of military strategy and movement. She would be a very large asset to the Legion throughout the war, and helped make several of the most influential decisions in the war, including NAME THING HERE, NAME THING HERE, and NAME THING HERE.  

Post War

ENDED THE 28TH of Mara, 261