Chevspendic invasion
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Chevspendic Invasion of Egercia
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| File:Chevspendicinvasion.png | |||||
| maep | |||||
| Period | |||||
| 2106 - 2134 | |||||
| Location | Noria, modern day Sahr | ||||
| Result | Chevspendic victory | ||||
| Territorial Changes | Annexation of pre-great-decline egercian rump states International recognition of Sahrland |
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| Belligerents | |||||
| Chevspendic Horde | Egercian states | ||||
| Chevspendi Klensthail (later) Phoenia (later) |
Egercian Republic Slovale Klensthail Kravsmad Medraria |
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| Strength | |||||
| something | something | ||||
| Casualties and Losses | |||||
| something | something | ||||
The Chevspendic Invasion is a series of conflicts and annexations which occured between 2106 and 2134 and ultimately led to the creation of Sahrland and the beginning of the Phoenian-Sahren terror war. Riding out from the Mamb Basin, the Chevspendics utilised tactics unusual for the steppe nomads the Egercians were accustomed to fighting, resulting in vast victories early in the campaign.
Background
See also : Battle of ağlav bataqliği & Lavro coup
In mid 2094 a triumverate of the wealthiest tribes in the Chevspendi united in a plan to transform the nation from tribal oligarchy to an autocracy. The similarly sized Atakti-ouli tribe and it's vassals met them in battle along an area of the mamb estuaries inundated with marsh, where the Lavro tribe formerly under the Oulis obtained a decisive victory, absorbing the Oulis and various friendly tribes and placing Cynaz Miden I as de-facto autocrat of the Chevspendi.
See also : The Shattering
Upon hearing news of The Shattering word began to spread through the tribes that it was an omen from God that the prophecy of Ataqi-Ouli was coming near. A zealous man, Miden 1st immediatly drafted a plan to settle the tribes and ammass industrial power for the final battle, but these plans were kept hidden as he still needed to centralise his dictatorial authority. The Lavros launched campaigns against several tribes disloyal to them, most notably the Tengins who suffered such a fate their tribe was dissolved and their members sent to others. By 2096 it was clear anyone who did not pledge loyalty to Miden Lavro would simply be overrun.
Egercia presented the perfect target as it was nearby, it's neighbors were distracted by internal manners, and it was vulnerable from political division. It's government based in Dugthail de-jure controlled vast population and territory, but a long history of failures to implement reforms had resulted in local governments taking control of their own affairs. De-facto control of the region was thus split between several city-states.
Subduction of Slovale and Dugthail (2190-2107)
In mid 2105 a Chevspendic scouting party acting without orders marched into Slovale and raised the banner of the Lavros, seizing the city and constructing a logistics hub for future operations.
It is said "Slouvelni!" was a Chevspendic word for expressing praise, and was shouted as they saw the ocean, many having never seen it before. The name Slovale derives itself from this word.
A much larger force led personally by Miden 1st set out on Lutzayu 2nd to take Dugthail and finally end the Egercian rump state. The city's fortifications were built to resist raiding from local nomadic peoples who lacked heavy equipment and never were intent on resisting a full military assault. As such the defenders were ill equipped to fend off the Chevspendics, whose weapons and tactics were hardened by fighting modern nation-states with armour and aircraft. After a short and decisive skirmish with Dugthail's tank force, the gates were forced open, and mounted conquerers thundered through for the first time in centuries.
Egercia survives (2107-2122)
Miden's insistance against pillaging allowed many warriors and politicians to escape, who were taken in by Kravsmad and Klensthail. A tense peace set in as the other Egercian city-states began to build up their armies and the Chevspendic horde reorganized themselves into the Grand Principality of Sahrland.
War of the Egercias (2122-2134)
Main : War of the Egercias
The beginning of the War of the Egercias was spontaneous and unexpected by all sides. No longer restricted by potential interference by Aontas due to the Phoenian revolutions, the Sahrens escalated their cross-border raids. The final straw came with the Battle of Sys, wherein the raiding party held the town rather than pulling back. When reinforcements arrived, Sys was gifted to the Grand Prince as his own personal realm, which meant Kravsmad and Sahrland now claimed ownership over the same stretch of land. Conflict was now innevitable, so the Sahrens struck first, quickly launching a full invasion of Kravsmad and triggering the War of the Egercias.
In lutzayu, 2123 Klensthæl was forcefully annexed with no resistance as Kravsmad retreated to a better fighting position. By 2124 90% of Kravsmadite territory was owned by Sahrland and Miden Lavro II was placed as a ruler over the grand city of Klensagrad as a Sahren vassal for the new lands. The creation of this new title proved the Sahren intentions to annex the entirety of Egercia rather than negotiated peace.
As the Sahren advance continued toward the Medrarian border pressure was mounting on their leadership to get involved before Sahrland snowballed into dominating the Egercian region and potentially becoming a recognized state. Medraria entered the war in Aughtafael of 2124 and committed to an offensive to retake the Kravsmadite capital. The resulting Battle of Baile was the first strategic failure of the Sahren royal armed forces, and marked another turning point in the war.
From then on the Sahren strategy shifted to giving up land to buy time while inflicting as many casualties as possible. With internal conflicts coming to a close in Phoenia, it became crucially important to hold on to manpower rather than territory in order to whether their innevitable entry.
Phoenia entered the war in early 2130, marching north to secure the farmland in south Egercia in a move to avoid the oncoming famine, as food resources had been completely drained by the years of fighting. None of the Egercian states had any international recognition at this point, but Sahr still had time to position itself as a useful buffer state to Phoenia and secure it's independence for years to come.
The Sahren army launched one last offensive in 2133 as Kravsmad and Medraria moved forces south to fight Phoenia, taking vast swaths of land and meeting with the Phoenian army at the Khelym river, which became the basis for the border between the two nations. Sahrland became an internationally recognized nation, marking the end of the Chevspendic invasion.
Aftermath
The Chevspendic invasion stands out as one of the only times after the industrial era in which a nomadic people were able to fight and subdue multiple settled civilizations. It also stands out even further as one of the only unrecognized nations which became legitimised through military prowess compared to a recognised one, as the Sahren army was generally estimated between 120-200% the size of the Phoenian army at the time of the war's conclusion, though these numbers are misleading given Phoenia possessed much greater and technologically superior navy and aerial forces.
Socio-Economic consequences
The population and wealth of Egercia was stagnant and much lesser than Phoen or Soir Tekkia before the Chevspendic arrival, which significantly increased the population of the land, completely upsetting the balance of power in favour of the north. A delicate balance of power between the Chevspendics and Egercians continued for the next fifty years becoming an unavoidable influence in Sahren politics and culture.
A deliberate programme of culture and linguistic reform would be undertaken by the succeeding monarchs as Sahrland attempted to legitimise itself as a linguostate, framing Egercian as it's own separate language from Tekkian rather than a dialect. Many Chevspendic words entered the language like this, while many cultural aspects such as mass Capal usage and a strong theatrical tradition were engrained.
The economy changed irreversibly due to at the time temporary measures of centralisation to improve Chevspendic military capability. Notable examples include the centralisation of shipyards into Stahldugas, the formation of the Sahren Royal Armed Forces, the creation of a conscription registry, and government operation of businesses critical to economic self-reliance such as armament factories. Recent historians have referenced this as the origin of economic statism in Sahr, which is now a key component of Sahrland's founding ideology, Svobodism.
Environmental consequences
These conflicts are an oddity when their environmental consequences are compared to contemporary conflicts, as relatively little damage was done to the ecosystem. The one major change which can be attributed to the Chevspendic invasion is the mass adoption of the Capal in Egercia. In 2095 there were an estimated 10 Capals per 100 residents, and only fourty years later in 2135 this number rose to 140 capals per 100 residents.
This has had a variety of negative and positive effects on the environment. A large capal population promotes biodiversity as their grazing stimulates new plant growth, their movement causes increased seed dispersion, and their manure increases soil fertility. Capals are also noted to dig their own wells when other sources are limited, which other wildlife consumes from. However capals also increase soil erosion when their grazing is unmanaged, and they can adversely effect other grazing animals by competing for resources.
The influence of Capals has been an integral part of Sahren environmentalism and their management has been a critical component.