Invasion of Xirnium

NOTE: This article is incomplete, pending further input from other participants.

The Invasion of Xirnium was one of the most complex and least well understood campaigns in NS history. Part of its origins stretch back to the events of the short-lived Quíkzötic Imperial Revolt - a several short months long, and completely unsuccessful, coup d'état attempt, by the then monarch of Xirnium, to wrest away power from the Supreme Parliament of Xirnium. Having failed in his initial goal of effecting a lightning surprise victory over the Sovereign Parliament, Emperor Quíkzös IV was, at the period of time directly preceding the Kraven War, desperately attempting to delay what would ultimately be the rapid and total crushing, by loyalist Parliamentary forces, of his abortive rebellion.

It was in these final stages of the failed imperial uprising when Quíkzös IV (who had become increasingly desperate and erratic) formulated a perilous, last-ditch plan to obtain nuclear weapons from abroad in order to utilise them against Parliamentary forces and so stave of imminent defeat – or at least for the time being. So desperate were the demoralised royalist factions, that several of the radical means postulated to achieve the end of acquiring nuclear weaponry were particularly absurd, even extending to the selling into servitude and slavery of captured loyalist Xirniumites in exchange for the development of its nuclear programme.

Several ostensibly outraged nations, including Suur-Uusimaa, Kahanistan, and others, in addition to more opportunist totalitarian regimes like Kraven, Concremo and Mini Miehm, declared war on Xirnium at this point. Some of the nations were motivated, or so they claimed, by genuine compassion for the Xirniumite people, while others were motivated by a desire for land, forced labour, or even less noble aspirations.

The conflict which ensued was a major watershed in NS history. First and foremost, it precipitated huge changes to the nation of Xirnium itself. The Xirniumite Parliament, despite having to simultaneously deal with a multiple front invasion of its mainland, succeeded in completely crushing the Quíkzötic Imperial Revolt. It followed this by totally abolishing the monarchy (which, prior to the coup attempt, had been merely symbolic anyway) and instituted various other reforms which utterly cemented the supreme authority of Parliament, giving it final legal ascendancy and placing it at the apex of the Xirniumite government. In the aftermath of the successful repulsion of the invasion, Xirnium recommitted herself to liberalism, progress and democracy, and quickly became a leading respected member of the international community.

Outside of events directly related to Xirnium, the Xirnium-Kraven War can be considered a precursor to the wider Kraven War, where an alliance of nations (the Anti-Kraven Alliance) sought to invade and dismantle the Kraven Corporation. Other resultant effects of the war included the forging of the Adamantine Alliance (now defunct). The war also brought about the defeat of Torontia and the deposing of its former government, the New Order, resulting in a complex series of occupations by foreign powers (including, at different times and in alternative Torontian locations: Amestria, Saint Fedski, Xirnium, McKagan, Yallak and The Lone Alliance) that continue to this very day.

Initial Phase: The Kahanistanian and Nistolonian Invasions

It is not entirely clear which was the first shot in anger fired in the Xirnium War - though it was either from a naval battery at Hythnör which engaged a large Nistolonian invasion fleet at extreme range or the murder of a Xirniumite frontier guard by Kahanistanian Colonel Levitt.

The first major military engagement of Xirniumite forces was at the Battle of Xyvarëngwë. A convoy of Kahanistan Imperial Marines, lightly armed, and with sparse air support (though Xirnium did not contest air supremacy in this battle), engaged a partially mobilised Xirniumite infantry unit, using unorthodox tactics, before being forced to surrender. The survivors, including the commanders, were held in a prisoner of war camp for several days while negotiations ensued, resulting in Kahanistan making a separate peace with Xirnium in exchange for the cessation of the nuclear aspirations of Emperor Quíkzös IV and the release of the 103 Xyvarëngwë survivors.

At the same time (off the coast of Xirnium) the Nistolonian forces failed to even begin their invasion, deciding to withdraw at the arrival of the Yallakian fleet. While they did so, in a final act of defiance, the Nistolonian's attempted to destroy the Yallakian flagship, the IYS Bloodthirster with an explosive rigged submarine that docked for 'negotiations'. Although several Imperial soldiers were killed, no damage was done to the ship itself when the submarine detonated. After the incident, the two Nistolonian's who came aboard from the submarine were executed.

The Primary Phase: Kraven Aggression

Towards the end of the initial phase of the Xirnium War, Kraven attempted to illegally extort control of Xirniumite territory in return for a guarantee that the Corporation would not invade the nation. Such an agreement, regardless of the very serious threat that existed behind it, was completely unacceptable to the Supreme Parliament. Nonetheless, it was clear to the Supreme Parliament that, with the Quíkzötic Imperial Revolt still not yet entirely put down, the Xirniumite Republic would not be able to at this point properly resist such imperialist demands. It resolved instead to feign compliance long enough to prepare an adequate defence of Mother Xirnium, and thus allowed the establishment of a Kraven military base on Xirniumite soil in order to buy some time.

The primary stage of the Xirniumite conflict was thus initiated with the destruction of the illegitimate Kraven facility by a Parliamentary Xirniumite nuclear device. Five thousand of the Kraven Corporation's inhuman Sardaukar elite infantry were vapourised instantly, and the subsequent declaration of war (by Xirniumite Chief Minister Erthám Nidör to Kraven's High Command) which following this act became an instantly memorable quote of defiance against all odds, 'We regret to inform the Kraven Corporation that their lease on the 10 x 10 mile plot of land by lake Zírtymë has expired.' The resulting war would prove the most destructive in Xirnium's history.

Meanwhile, relations between Kahanistan and The Kraven Corporation rapidly degenerated into cold war on unrelated grounds. The main cause of this conflict was ideological: Kahanistan was, and is, a liberal, secular, socialist democracy, where the citizens are free to choose their own religions and express their political views freely. Kraven, on the other hand, was a repressive, totalitarian, militarized state, imposing its Civil Law Doctrines on nations it conquered, which the leadership of Kahanistan found repugnant.

Xirnium took advantage of the cooling of Kahanistanian - Kraven relations and formally requested Kahanistanian military support in their defencee against the Kraven coalition. While Kahanistan was currently fighting the Ottoman Alliance, the actual combat was sparse enough that Kahanistan could spare two-thirds of a million soldiers to aid in the defence, reinforced by a further million when the Ottoman conflict ended.

At approximately the same time, Kahanistan and Xirnium signed the Adamantine Alliance in Yallak. Whilst on the surface this affected the war little, as both signatories were already engaged in military hostilities against the invaders of Xirnium, the nations of Saint Fedski and Velkya also joined the alliance later, and contributed minor troops and materiel to the Xirniumite theatre.

Facing stubborn resistance from the brave and determined Xirniumite defenders, which prevented the Kraven invasion force from breaking out of its narrow beachhead along the coastline near Iáthërn, the Supreme Parliament was ready to launch its famed decisive counter-stroke. An unprecedentedly massive Xirniumite counteroffensive, codenamed Operation Divine Retribution, was thus launched, with auxiliary support from elements of the Kahanistan Republic Guard. The offensive was an unqualified success, annihilating the Kraven expeditionary invasion force.

At sea, the Kraven invasion armada was kept at bay and prevented from supporting its ground forces by the Yallakian fleet. With roughly equal numbers of warships on each side, the battle ground into a stalemate which lasted the entire length of the invasion despite the cunning tactics employed by both sides. During Operation Divine Retribution, contingents of Xirniumite and Novan warships arrived and with their assistance the Kraven navy was routed and largely destroyed.

The fatalities sustained by the Kraven military were catastrophic and (with the exception of those few captured by the victors) total. Later, the Kraven commanders responsible for the conduct and planning of the invasion were captured, tried, and convicted of having committed crimes against peace by the Xirniumite courts – and duly executed. The remnant of the Kraven navy fled in disarray, and was later destroyed during its ill-fated retreat back to the Corporation's territorial waters by the relentless Novacom and Yallakian navies.

Outcome

The war was an utter defeat for Kraven, one of the first setbacks that the warmongering Corporation had received in a very long time. The Xirniumite Republic emerged victorious from the conflict and as a respected nation of the international community.

A later signing of a peace treaty with the Freekish leadership of the Kraven Consortium put to rest any future threat of a repeat attempt at invasion of Xirnium by the Corporation. The Kraven Corporation, however, did not retract its intentions to continue to endeavour to harvest of slaves from other nations.