The Fifteen Years War
The Conflict
Prelude
There is many arguments for how the war actually started, with all nations spinning their own tales for justification. However there is one truth known to a incredibly few individuals. How it started was during a drunken binge with two nobles, one of House Ammai of Ashenfeld and one of House Drache of Neundorf, the nobles would approach a whorehouse. A fight for some unknown reason broke out, likely the two drunkards arguing over who could sleep with a particular whore, and fists were thrown. Both nobles would slink away, vowing that the other hadn't seen the last of them. This event was an insult of the highest order, as each noble told their own tale, of course making themselves look better in comparison. This action would spiral as the leader of House Ammai, one Count Tristan of Ammai, would approach King Oweyn (who is the father of King Colart the III) and tell of this grevious insult. Seeing this as a way to justify war and take the rich land of Neundorf for themselves, they would send a deceleration of war. However as this was happening, Nuendorf was also sending its decleration of war, as Graf Ottokar Drache of House Drache would beseech Kaiser Siegmund von Krastner to act on this grievous insult. Ottokar even went so far as to fake documents for an assassination attempt by Ashenfeld, and seeing this, they would also declare war. However with this, Ashenfled would call on the Sacred Kingdoms of Diosia to join them in war, Neundorf would call upon Vebastonne to join them as well. Both sides accepted, and so what started as a simple fistfight, turned into the largest war since before the Crusade of Light seen in Nilush.
Deployment
Ashenfeld and Nuendorf would quickly begin mustering their troops, with Diosia needing time to muster and Vebastonne already having a sizeable combat force ready to go due to its many knights. The Knight legions of Ashenfeld would begin positioning in Northern Ashenfeld, while the Legion of iron would position itself on the border of Vebastonne. Neundorf would call upon troves of mercenaries to bolster their ranks, providing them with a force far before Ashenfeld's forces could reach Northern Ashenfeld.
Eventually, when the Rusilyvania Empire would join on the side of Neundorf, and The Ardità States on the side of Ashenfeld, both would travel using a large naval force to make landfall before marching their armies.
Battlefield
The battlefield would encompass large chunks of Ashenfeld, Neundorf, and Vebastonne, with no fighting reaching Diosia, Ardità, or Ustaria. They would fight in muddy fields, cliffs, green fields, and any many of condition. Siege warfare was incredibly common in this war.
Conditions
Conditions would vary depending on the weather, but were general miserable, as armies would go on exhausting marches from place to place, besieging and sacking villages and castles, and fighting in massive battles with other armies. Magic would also be employed to devastating affect, as in some cases whole platoons would be wiped from magical volleys, as wizards would engage in counter wizard warfare.
The Engagement
The beginning of the war saw Neundorf make the first move, with launching fast attacks against all of northern Ashenfeld, causing mass chaos and panic. Capitalizing on this, Vebastonne would also begin traveling into Ashenfeld, though would face resistance as an entire knight legion was standing guard there. Ashenfeld would be bloodied but it would not fall, as it launched counter attacks that saw the Neunian force stalled in grueling siege warfare. Diosia would then arrive some 2 years later as it would bolster the weakening Ashenfeld forces. This would cause the borders of war to shift drastically as Nuendorf would make good progress into Ashenfeld, but Ashen forces also made it deep into Neundorf. Vebastonne would be pushed back, but manage to hold them at Clamont castle for the moment, instead moving most of its troops to help Nuendorf repel the forces inside its borders instead of trying to push into Ashenfelds capital, which was too heavily guarded at the time.
Sieges, sacking, pillages, skirmishes, line battles, all of it would occur during these grueling 15 years, as in the later stages of the war, Ardità and Rusilvaynia would join in, once again resulting in sweeping changes to the lines of engagement. However the war would reach a bloody stalemate as neither side could truly push a solid charge. Eventually, this would result in fatigue and civil unrest in most of the nations. The Church of the Flame would use this to solidify its position within society even further by only know coming to offer mediation between the two sides, and calling on all parties involved to travel to Elsterthal to talk of ending this war. Thus the Peace of Elsterthal was signed after 2 months of discussion.
Outcome
While the peace by this point was a welcome on as every side had been exhausted from fighting, the cost was horrific. This would make it the bloodiest and longest mass war in Nilush in history, with estimates for total dead being around 5-8 million. Over half of these deaths are estimated to be civilian, and some villages or towns would experience a population decline of over 50%.
Aftermath
This war is burned into the memories of many, as it directly contributed to the alienation of the nations more then ever before, while strengthening ties with others. Some suspect this was the beginning of the end for Ashenfeld, while some also theorize this war greatly depleted the resources and manpower that would later be called upon for the Crusade of Light, which was nothing short of a miracle that the Pureborn Hero was able to have nations put aside their differences, even if it was for a incredibly brief time.
Neundorf would remain strengthend but bloodied, and to this day some villages havent fully recovered from the war. Vebastonne would emerge with a sizeable chunk of its forces wiped, but would from this have even stronger borders. Rusilvaynia and Ardità gained no territorial changes but did manage to gain more political influence in Ashenfeld and Neundorf through other means. Diosia asked for little, as they saw it as their holy duty to fight this war, though that didn't stop from many of the great merchant rulers of the cities and the Church of Eris itself from securing insanely lucrative trade deals throughout the whole war.
This war also served to strengthen the Church of the Flame, who was now seen as a true force of pure good amongst many of the citizens, they ended the war after all. However the church did this to strengthen its position in the populace to be now near total, as it had actually supported Ashenfeld at the beginning of the war. This is what lead the Church to have the ability to call upon the Crusade of Light, which while that ended in failure, would not even so much as dent the churches grip on society.
Historical Significance
Legacy
The war lives on as the bloodiest and largest war in the history of the continent of Nilush, While the Crusade would have more dire consequences, the tragedy of the Fifteen Years War is that it was not fought against a force of pure evil, but people. Nations marched to war to die in droves when the real enemy was hiding in the bogs and swamps of the Deadlands. No one can fully agree on the cause as all sides tell their own tales, and has served to spur on even more nationalistic thoughts amongst the general populace. Some worry that another war may be imminent, as many sides have those eager to fight another great battle against their neighbors, while also hoping to reaffirm their alliance with their allies.
In Literature
Many stories have come from this war, Vebastonne has many epic tales of chivalry and valour earned on the field of battle, while many plays in other nations act out great battles. An infamous poem exists, decrying the war, though this poem is hard to come by as it was only printed in limited number simply titled "Has Man Gone Insane?".
Conflict Type
War
Battlefield Type
Land
Start Date
4180
Ending Date
4195
Conflict Result
The Peace of Elsterthal is signed, ending the war. Though a few territorial changes did occur, in the end nothing major changed.
Location
Belligerents
The Ashenfeld Coalition
Led by
The Neundorf Alliance
Led by
Strength
- 80,000-90,000 Ashen
- 100,000 Diosian
- 30,000 Arditàn
- 100,000 Nuenians
- 70,000 Vestoni
- 40,000 Rusilyvanian
Casualties
- 120,000 in Ashen Service
- 26,000 in Arditàn Service
- 30,000 Other
- 130,000 in Neunian Service
- 50,000 in Vestoni Service
- 25,000 Other
Objectives
To defeat Neundorf and gain more territory for Ashenfeld
To get revenge on Ashenfeld for the alleged assassination attempt and insult, and to expand the territory of Neundorf and its allies.
