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| Chrysant War | |
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| Years | 286 AC - 291 AC |
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The Chrysant War, or the Regalian-Essa War, was a conflict between 286 AC and 291 AC between the Regalian Empire and the Essa Empire. At the start of the war, the Essa Empire, comprised of Slizzar and Allar, was one of the three major powers in the central geo-political power game along with the Regalian Empire and the Songaskian Masaya, as the Neo-Allorn Empire was not yet reformed. After years of Regalian provocation, and mounting political unrest among its military factions, the Emperor was forced to agree to invade the Essa Empire, which occurred with full force. The war was not fought bitterly but easily, with many of Hadar's military forces folding to Regalia's military superiority. With steel and cannons, Allar alchemy and more conventional projectile weapons were no match, and the war turned less into a formal war and more into a rampage where Regalian fleets burned city after city to get to the capital. The Essa Empire completely cracked under military pressure and was destroyed in the process, with Regalian establishing many de-militarized subject kingdoms. Regalia's victory over the Essa Empire was used as propaganda to end the Regalian Pessimism and re-establish Regalia's pre-eminence, though in the modern day, this conflict is largely remembered for just being genocidal mania among the rabid jingoist and pro-war factions of Regalian society, and many soldiers who fought in the war look back on it in shame. Tens of thousands of Allar died from starvation and destruction, and Hadar was seriously damaged and unable to resist an invasion from the south many years later, while many Slizzar also took revenge for their destruction by assassinating many Regalian nobles and retreating to their impregnable city.
Prelude
In the decade following the Red Uprising, the Regalian Senate went from an institution designed to check the powers of the Dukes and Emperor into a corrupt organization of warring political factions that failed to pass any meaningful legislation. The result was a stagnant Regalian Empire that could not guide itself out of the downturn that was the Regalian Pessimism. While an economic depression was ultimately avoided, a lack of growth and innovations led to a general flatlining of the Empire’s potential. The military conquered no new states new project works were started or completed, and at the top of it all, the Senate was bogged down in endless debates and factionalization. Eventually, three notable political blocs materialized in the Regalian Senate: the Red Faction which desired a weaker constitutional monarchy, the Dragon Faction which promoted intellectual advancement, and the Iron Bulwark which desired a return to military campaigning. While it would only take two of the three factions to end gridlock in the Senate, ideological differences kept a coalition from forming.
This political deadlock ended in 286 AC when the Iron Bulwark proposed to invade the Essa Empire over disputed border claims following the end of the Dunden War. The vote was expected to fail, as similar proposals had died in debate. However, the Dragon Faction surprised everyone by voting in favor alongside the Iron Bulwark, creating the necessary majority needed to pass the proposal. While some of the Reds initially protested the results of the vote, their political whips forced them to concede to the will of the Senate, as their entire platform was derived from the legitimacy of the intuition. With the proposal passed, Emperor Justinian II gave the call to arms, and soon hundreds of warships began to sail south to Hadar.
Experience
Among Soldiers
In the army, the typical soldier was either a feudal levy called to service by their overlord or a mercenary taking on a contract put up by the State. As Hadar was a vast tropical archipelago, soldiers would often jump from island to island as they pushed further south towards the Essa capital. This often saw an initial bombardment by naval warships, followed by an amphibious landing by mercenaries, with the regular army landing after a beachhead was established. Following the landing, soldiers marched towards the nearest settlement, where they were often ambushed by Allar fighters. Despite the element of surprise and territorial knowledge favoring the Essa defenders, Regalian armaments far outclassed those of the Allar, leading to few casualties within the army. Most casualties usually came from alchemical burns or tropical disease, with the injured being carried back to the beach before being placed on hospital ships destined back to Corontium.
In the navy, the typical sailor had far fewer hardships than their army equivalents, as their function during the war was to provide logistical and artillery support to the army’s movements on each island. Ships often rotated between providing reconnaissance and delivering messages between commanders, with very few naval battles taking place due to the Essa Navy being virtually nonexistent. The greatest threat posed by the Allar were aquatic saboteurs that would plant alchemical explosives to the bottom of ships, causing them to take on water after detonation. However, such attacks were rare in practice, as the military often retaliated by completely wiping out the closest village to their positions, forcing the Allar to try other strategies.
Among Officers
Within the army and navy, the experiences of the officers were roughly the same. While directing their units in battle was an obvious duty, managing logistics was by far the greatest challenge faced by these individuals. At the start of the campaign, the nature of island hopping meant that supplies were often delivered late, or to an island that had already been vacated, leaving officers to make do with the limited supplies they had or take drastic actions to speed up their campaigns. Many believe that the sheer amount of damage inflicted in Essa villages was due to a lack of supplies available to conduct extended operations, forcing officers to burn everything to the ground so they could conserve as many resources as they had delivered. While logistical challenges subsided as the war progressed, many officers continued to torch settlements due to it being the fastest way of completing their objectives, despite the carnage it left in the military’s wake. Knights also participated in the Chrysant War, though their numbers were fewer than in previous conflicts, as the nature of island hopping and marching through dense jungles limited the capabilities of these individuals.
Among Command
Like their officers, commanders also had to handle challenges with logistics, though the rapid progress made by the Regalians against the Essa Empire saw many initial plans thrown away and rewritten to account for these developments. The Chrysant War was also the first conflict that saw island hopping as the primary strategy, leading to many new tactics developed by commanders at the moment that differed from the conventional battles they were more accustomed to. Similarly, the conflict saw the army and navy working together closer than they ever had before, with both admirals and generals meeting in the same command tents and ship quarters to provide their recent experiences regarding the war. Never before had both branches of the Regalian Military worked so closely together, which created a greater appreciation of the work each side did to aid the other.
End & Aftermath
The Chrysant War culminated in the Siege of Fessa Huallo, the capital of the Essa Empire. Despite being the decisive battle of the conflict, the actual siege was much the same as previous battles, with very little resistance made by the Allar and the Slizzar against the Regalians. After several coastal bombardments, the army made their landing, sacking the city and taking control of the capital. No treaty was signed with the Essa Empire, as their Empress could not be found, believed to have fled with other Slizzar back to Sarakand. As a result of this, the Regalian Military declared the Essa Empire to be dissolved, and placed several Admirals in charge of various successor kingdoms, creating a demilitarized zone in Hadaria.
When news of the victory reached the Regalian Capital, patriotic fervor reached a new height that had not been seen since the reign of Emperor Allestrain I. Using the emotions of the Empire to their advantage, the Dragon Faction proposed a return of the Emperor’s absolute authority, which was immediately supported by the Iron Bulwark, which was caught up in the celebrations to consider the ramifications of this vote once it passed. With his absolute authority restored, Emperor Justinian II declared the dissolution of the Regalian Senate and restored the office of the Chancellor to its proper position. After roughly 30 years of corruption and stagnancy, the Regalian Pessimism ended with the fall of the institution that propagated it.
Despite the victory and end of the Pessimism, not every outcome of the Chrysant War was a cheerful one. In an act of revenge for the destruction of their empire, numerous Slizzar infiltrated the courts of Regalia’s military and political houses who were instrumental in carrying out the conflict. Simultaneously across the Regalian Empire, these Slizzar assailants descended on these families when they were celebrating the victory, assassinating many nobles in the process. Overnight, many prominent noble houses lost someone important, leaving them the final casualties of the Chrysant War.
Review
Presently, the Chrysant War is looked on with mixed feelings, due to both the immediate and long-term effects of the conflict. While the war did lead to the ending of the Regalian Pessimism and the dissolution of the Senate, it saw the assassinations of several great military and political minds as revenge for the carnage inflicted on the Essa Empire. Many veterans feel a sense of guilt for what they did to the Allar especially, since the latter has grown from being the most oppressed to one of the most revered peoples in the Regalian Empire within the span of a few decades. Finally, the war demonstrated the consequences of blindly seeking conflict with no care for the damage caused, as the long-term effects of the military destruction of Hadaria have led to numerous invasions from Sendras in recent history, which the descendants of Chrysant War veterans now have to deal with.
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