Second unification war

The region of Dercia had been subject to the most protracted conflict in the continent of Mirateias history, not even the bloody wars of the Ancient Empire could compare to the carnage that the First unification war had brought to the region. So when the news spread that the two sides, Pearlhal and the Alliance of City-states. had finally after 499 years of war, raiding and plundering signed a peace treaty, the treaty would accept the current borders much to the dismay of the defeated city-states but the alliance were not in a position to continue the fight, the civilian population celebrated, and the rebuilding of the places close to the borders could begin. Although it didn't take long for the population to begin to feel that this peace might not be as permanent as they first had hoped, neither side demobilised at this point, enormous armies, and old veterans, were replaced with recruits and new warships continued to be built.
Eleven years after the peace that ended the First unification war, the second one broke out when a Dercian convoy was about to enter the sea between the Kingdom of Dercia and the new superpower the Principality of Clifia, it was were blocked by a squadron of ships belonging to one of the Alliance member states. When they refused to give compensation for the loss of the convoy and the goods, Dercian troops marched over the border, and the Second Unification war would start.

We should have finished them eleven years ago when we had the chance

Unknown Dercian general

The war would only come to a semi-conclusion when in 835, Pashire surrendered as the last city-state and, to the surprise of the leader were allowed to maintain their autonomy if they swore allegiance to the king in Pearlhal and became a vassal state. This arrangement lasted for some years until 840 when the city stopped paying their tribute. A Dercian army entered into a siege of the city that would become known as the conquest of the last city state and with Pashires fall two years later the conclusion of the conflict that started with minor skirmishes over the border and the goal to secure the survival of Pealhal back in 64 I.C.

The Conflict

Prelude

During the eleven years, both sides would conduct raids over the border, claiming them to be done by rogue elements of both sides, and it finally boiled over when the Dercian convoy was attacked

Deployment

Pearlhal:

Unlike the first war, during the second war, the Dercian fleet stayed either in a harbour or near their own shores for the first couple of months. It speculated that they did this because they expected a more prominent naval presence from the alliance. Still, when they never came, they formed squadrons and spread out to hunt merchants and alliance navy ships. The Dercian army had, during the peace, been reorganised, and 12 new armies consisting of five legions were stationed along the border. They marched to previously selected targets as soon as they got the news that the war was on.

Alliance of City-states:

The alliance navy must, like the Dercian, expected the other side to be more active the first few months of the war, so they likewise stayed in home waters until they became more active. Unlike the Dericans, the alliance navy preferred to stay in larger groups and hunt down the smaller Derican groups of warships. The alliance army rushed to size key forts and cities along the border when the news of the war reached them. Still, they lacked orders, so they didn't advance further into Dercia but instead fortified their holdings which would prove to be extremely hard for the Dercians to expel again, costing the Dericans many soldiers during the storms on the fortifications.

Outcome

Temporary truce with Pashire left as the last surviving independent city-state in the region.

Aftermath

With the conquest of Pashire in 842, the war concluded with Pearlhal left as the sole ruler of the entire Dercian region. Its borders stretch from Geralt's wall in the east to the great sea to the west and from the great city of Pearlhal in the north to the great cities in the south.

Historical Significance

In Literature

Many have, over the years since the war concluded, written about how either Dercia or the alliance were guilty of continuing the fight needlessly, while others argue that Dercia had to continue the war and either emerge victorious or be defeated as a decisive victory of either side is by them seen as the only way to lasting peace.

Included Conflicts

• conquest of the last city state

Conflict Type

War

Battlefield Type

Land

Start Date

584

Ending Date

842

Conflict Result

Victorious kingdom of Dercia

Belligerents

Kingdom of Derica

• Kingdom of Dercia

Alliance of City-states

• Alliance of City-states

Strength

Over 350.000

350.000-470.000

Casualties

500.000-1.200.000

760.000-1.200.000

Objectives

To secure the rest of the Dercian region.

Primary objective:
Prevent the fall of the city-states in the alliance
Secondary objective: 
Push the Dercian kingdom back, hopefully to the borders 500 years earlier

Maps

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  Mirateia