CoN 5: Wars

Throughout a Council save, hundreds of wars occur. But some are big enough and impactful enough to be worth writing down, and worth being remembered for the sheer impact they had on the rest of the save. These wars are listed here.

The Russian-Prussian Imperialist War (1689-1693)
For some time, Prussia had been sending merchants up north to Novgorod to try and draw Russian trade southward. It had been working for some time, until the Russians eventually caught on. After Russian diplomats demanded the Prussian Duke to withdraw his merchants from the Novgorod trade node, negotiations broke down, and the Prussians refused to respond to further diplomatic envoys. War became inevitable.

On April 17th, 1689, the Tsardom of Russia formally declared war on the Duchy of Prussia. Prussia's allies came marching to its aid, and, thanks in part to the Universal Declaration on the Legitimacy of Free States, many countries in neutral relations with either country joined on the side of Prussia. All together, the allies may have had a good chance of defeating the Russian bear.

The full coalition against Russia consisted of Andalusia, Bavaria, Burgundy, Georgia, Italy, Prussia, Rum, and Ruthenia. Unfortunately, half of the coalition members would drop out in the first year of fighting.

Georgia, which had been struggling to keep up technologically for the past century, quickly realized any forces it could muster would not make an impact on the outcome of the war. The King of Georgia signed a separate peace. The Bavarian army marched straight to battle, not realizing the sheer forces Russia had already pushed to the Prussian border. His entire army killed, the Duke of Bavaria signed a separate peace. Historians are not sure what to make of the Burgundian involvement in the war, but it is theorized the King's diplomats were so inexperienced and poorly trained that they accidentally signed a treaty to end the war. Finally, the Emperor of Italy was more interested in colonizing the Kongo in Africa than helping his long-term ally in a defensive war.

As it were, the Andalusian-Prussian-Rumi-Ruthenian coalition would never stand a chance against the Russian bear. These members were able to win some small fights against Russian incursions into deeper Prussian territories, but against the full might of the Russian army they never stood a chance. The most deadly battle in world history (at the time) would occur on November 11th, 1691, in the forests of Tuchel, where 311,000 Russians would fight 570,000 coalition members. In this single battle, an estimated 250,000 men died. Though the coalition won this battle, these kinds of heavy losses would be certain for any battle against the Russians. While Russia could afford to lose men, the coalition could not.

After 4 hard years of fighting, the Duke of Prussia formally surrendered to Russian forces on May 2nd, 1689. Overall, in the treaty 5 provinces would be transferred from Prussia to Russia, including the treasured province of "BON JOVI 2". Additionally, Prussia was required to withdraw its merchants from Novgorod. The coalition was left scarred by the bloody and brutal war, though Russia was seemingly unfazed by its losses.

The 17-Years War (1722-1739)
Formally known as the Russian Conquest of Tyn, the 17-Years War is a European conflict officially that officially began on September 16, 1722, with the Russian declaration of war on Persia. It formally ended on October 10th, 1739.

The 17-Years War was sparked by a rebellion in the steppes of Russia, near their northern border with Persia. A small group of Nationalist Rebels had broken free from Russia and formed the nation of Kalmyk. Persia, seeing an opportunity, immediately threatened the new nation to declare war if they would not hand over the province of Astrakhan. The fledgling rebellion, knowing that denial would mean certain destruction, quickly handed over the territory. The province of Astrakhan is a fairly well-developed piece of land, and a strong trading hub in the region. Once Russia realized what had happened, they started work at destroying this upstart nation, and demanded Persia hand the territory back, citing it as a Rusisan core.

Persia was initially opposed to handing the territory back, but after pressure from their fellow Council Members, they begrudgingly handed the province back over to Russia. This, of course, only occurred after Persia dismantled and destroyed every building in the province. Upon receiving the city and finding all government-funded buildings destroyed, the Russian Tsar was furious. Soon after this, the Tsar would declare war on the Persian Empire. While many Council members still viewed this as Persian Aggression, they all remembered the first Imperialist War. If the Russian Menace was allowed to become stronger, they would never stand a chance. And so, one by one, all members of the Council but Italy and Adal joined on Persia's side.

The fighting was bloody and brutal. Much of the fighting would occur in the territory of Ruthenia, but Prussian and Persian lands were not free from this struggle. As the Second Coalition grouped up their armies in Greece, the Russian armies continued to plunge southward until reaching Besarabia. After a close battle, the Coalition forces ultimately drove the Russians back, and they would never push so deep into Ruthenian territories, as they had before. This time, the Coalition would do everything in their power to contain the Russian Menace.

More battles occurred in the North, around Lithuania and Eastern Poland. These battles were numerous and costly for both sides, though the Coalition generally fared worse. Even though they won most of the battles they fought, this would become less and less common in the later stages of the war, as the Coalition's manpower simply did not replenish at the same rate as that of the Russians. Additionally, the Coalition's army quality was all over the place. Some were very high quality armies, but most were average quality.

During the 17-Years War, Bavaria's constant conquests caught up to the small state. A number of HRE princes, seeing Bavaria's army weakened and busy in the conflict, formed their own Coalition and invaded Bavaria. Bavaria, seeing no other option, made a separate peace with Russia, taking money and freeing Norway. The Italians faced a different problem at this time, as violent Revolutionaries started in Parigi and continued to spread across the nation. While not involved in this Coalition, these uprisings would eventually pave the nation's future.

Over time, the Coalition had won a good string of battles in a row, and was finally ready to make the first push into Russian territories. This campaign would end in disaster, as Coalition forces were forced to retreat into Hungary. Many of their manpower reserves were now empty, and members of the Coalition found themselves considering a separate peace with Russia, perhaps for a more lenient treaty. Still, the President of Persia spoke out, ensuring that the situation would be worse in the future if no action was taken. Begrudgingly, the Coalition stuck together.

Then finally, a breakthrough occurred. The government of Italy could not face the Revolutionary forces, and a new Revolutionary Republic was formed. This Republic, now stabilized, chose not to sit on the sidelines, and assisted the Coalition. The fresh troops from Revolutionary Italy were a true sight to see on the battlefield-- An army for the people, defending the freedom of their neighbors against tyranny. This sight likely sparked the Revolutionary movements that led to the modern Revolutionary Ruthenia.

The Italian troops, though numerous and fresh, were still no match for the Russian army. The rest of the Coalition was exhausted from years of warfare and bloodshed, which up to now had ultimately accomplished nothing, as the Russian hordes continued to flow into Ruthenia. After a string of lost battles, all but the Rumi and Italian armies were completely exhausted. At this point, Persia begrudgingly signed the Treaty of Tyn, stating:

 

 

 

The Treaty was not nearly as severe as any Coalition member had expected it to be. Many members of the Coalition would end up not signing the Treaty, and even more who did sign it officially stated that they would not subject themselves to any Russian trials or accusations of guilt. With a death toll of over 10 million, over 17 years, this war had ravaged Eastern Europe, on a scale 10x worse than the Russian-Prussian Imperialist War. But maybe, with this lesson, there would be Peace in Europe?

Of course not. The Revolutionaries are gaining traction.