The First War of Succession

The First War of Succession or the War of the Dawnsian Succession was a massive scale conflict that took place in the Middle East. Primarily between Catholic Europe and The Resplendent Dawn over matters of royal succession, a great number of other nations joined in on either side of the conflict.

The Rising Tensions

General Yonatan, Supreme Commander of the Imperial Armed Forces of The Resplendent Dawn, seized the capital city of Antioch and deposed the Catholic-sympathetic royal family, ruled by Emperor Emmanuel. Princess Maryam, his heir, fled to Catholic Europe. General Yonatan held a succession conference in Antioch, which was attended by Sheik Omar bin Kazali, among other foreign dignitaries.

Tensions flared when the Dawnsian Army occupied Cyprus when the Royal Family was moved there. Cyprus was regarded as Catholic European territory by the Papacy.

The situation soon began to run out of control. Sheik Omar bin Kazali supported General Yonatan and warned the Papacy that Maryam could not be installed by force. Sheik bin Kazali then sent a proposal to the Papacy to avert warfare:

PRIVATE CABLE

TO: Catholic European Administration

FROM: His Eminence Sheik Omar bin Kazali of Egyria

RE: The Resplendent Dawn

To the Papacy -

I understand the volatility of this situation, and I'm sure you do as well.

War is coming. This is something we wish to avoid, and are willing to stop it for a price.

You have always considered my country as "imperialist." This is not so, and to prove it, this is my offer:

1) Egyria will cede all Kurdistani territory gained in the recent February War to the Holy Catholic Empire

2) This ceded territory will become the Catholic Kingdom of Kurdistan - unless you find another name more appropriate.

3) Prince Amadeo will be crowned as Emperor Amadeo I of the Catholic Kingdom of Kurdistan.

4) The Royal Family will be able to move to this new Kingdom with no interference by any nation

Please let us continue these negotiations privately and as long as possible.

I wait anxiously for your reply.

-His Eminence Sheik Omar bin Kazali

In exchange, the Papacy would rescind its claim to the Dawnsian throne. Pope Fernando I, however, rejected the offer.

Things finally came to a head when Patriarch Photios effectively called Catholic Europe out on religious grounds after discussing the crowning of emperor's. General Yonatan offered Prince Amadeo the throne to The Resplendent Dawn - so long as he was raised as an Orthodox Christian, a clearly unacceptable condition for the Papacy.

A Catholic-allied "Free Resplendent Dawn" declared itself in the north of The Resplendent Dawn, while Sheik bin Kazali and Pope Fernando I traded insults over the idea of imperialism.

When war came close to breaking out, Egyria adopted a vague neutrality - so long as Egyrian territory or the neutrality (unless rescinded) of An Najm and Al Araam was not violated, Egyria would not act. The military remained on high alert however, as Prince Amadeo was crowned Emperor Amadeo by the Pope.

Assassination!

Sheik Omar bin Kazali collapsed during a board meeting after hearing General Yonatan's desperate plea for Egyrian intervention:

(As reported by WWN)

...The diagnosis for both victims is "Too much stress," an Egyrian doctor told us. What most concerns the doctor, however, is that "Mr. bin Ibrahim was getting along in years, but His Eminence is still young, at the beginning of his reign."

Apparently both collapsed soon after hearing General Yonatan, of The Resplendent Dawn, made a speech - with harsh comments aimed at Egyria.

He said quote, "Furthermore, I recognize that my decision to support Egyria and An Najm in the secession of Southern Kurdistan was a terrible mistake... That action set the precedent for foreign nations to intervene in civil wars and to shatter countries."

The Ambassador was alone, but witnesses in the board room saw the Sheik's reaction, saying that "He turned a very pale white, visible even through his Semitic skin. We saw that he was trying to remain calm, but he was trembling. We knew that he had cracked."

General Yonatan's address continued:

"Which nation is willing to support the Resplendent Dawn in this conflict? Who is willing to defy the Papacy and fight for what is right according to international and moral law. Who is willing to prevent Catholic European imperialism from claiming another victory. Finally, I issue a warning to Egyria: If Catholic Europe occupies Cyprus and forms a Catholic government in the Resplendent Dawn, the Syrian portion of Egyria would be surrounded and in serious danger. All here know that Catholic Europe and Egyria have not had the best of relations, and is Egyria willing to put her Syrian region in that level of danger?"

Witnesses reported that "He suddenly stopped shaking and got very quiet. He stared ahead, and then collapsed onto the floor."...

Sheik Omar bin Kazali had effectively suffered a mental breakdown as his decisions began to haunt him after an already exhausting workload. He did not die, but General Yonatan did - he was assassinated by Catholic terrorists shortly following his speech.

The War Begins

Duke Melchior was crowned Emperor of The Resplendent Dawn soon afterwards, and was lambasted repeatedly by the Papacy and their own Emperor, Amadeo. The Papacy then declared war.

The resulting war was primarily between Patrua and Catholic Europe, although numerous Middle Eastern contingents were alongside the Patruans. Relations were strained between Patrua and Egyria when Egyria refused Patrua military access, which prolonged the deployment of forces. Slowly but surely, the war gradually began to turn against Catholic Europe as more nations - Al Araam, Scythirus, Wadj - joined the Patruans. Papal forces failed in securing the key city of Nichopolis and "The Great Retreat" began.

Invasion of Wadj

In an attempted and failed counter-move, Catholic-ruled New Harumf waged an invasion of Wadj in retaliation for Sultan Suleiman requiring all Catholic Wadjis to pledge allegiance to the state. Unfortunately for the Harumfians, Scythirus had positioned 66 armed divisions consisting of millions of soldiers in Wadj just weeks earlier. The Scythirians, led by General Omar Takrit, hindered Harumfian entrance into Wadj. In the Straits of Hormuz, the Scythirian Navy battled with that of the Harumfians.

Eventually New Harumf withdrew its armies from Wadj and a ceasefire was agreed upon by the two nations. Scythirus, meanwhile, offered a similar agreement to New Harumf that would allow Scythirian military lines to pass through its borders in exchange for amnesty from its previous attacks against Wadj. New Harumf accepted the conditions due to a third of its population being excommunicated by the Pope, and Scythirus was able to continue its campaign to Catholic Europe.

Combat In The Mediterranean

Emperor Amadeo was kidnapped and his corpse somehow ended up in The Resplendent Dawn. It was a symbol for Papal fortunes. An Egyrian missile cruiser, Dasadanya, encountered a Papal submarine in Egyrian waters, then destroyed it after it did not respond. Sheik bin Kazali seized all Catholic assets in Egyria and warned the Papacy to not pull another stunt like they.

They did so - a frigate and a minesweeper were caught sailing in Egyrian waters and destroyed. Egyria then declared war, and sent the 15th Paratrooper Division and the 88th Tactical Fighter Squadron to join Patruan forces who were sieging Edessa, in the extreme north of The Resplendent Dawn.

Egyria's entry was viewed with some controversy. Emperor Melchior lauded the decision but Patrua expressed distaste that it had taken Egyria so long to act.

A vast deception campaign was then launched. A false landing in Greece panicked the Catholic European commanders who saw the underbelly of their nation exposed and ill-defended. Then Egyrian launched a massive assault in Syria and linked up with the Patruans, presenting a solid front to the Papal Army, which launched an unsuccessful counterattack.

The Harumfian Folly

Egyrian forces in New Harumf found themselves caught in a sudden civil war and were launched into confusion, but the tide was gradually turning against the Papacy and her allies - as Scythirus had finally deployed over a million soldiers, staged in Al Araam, on the Turkish border. Meanwhile, covert Scythirian agents stirred chaos and turmoil within the mounting Harumfian civil war and supplied weapons to King Thomas' forces to combat those of Queen Filipa's.

Eventually after the civil war in New Harumf had torn it asunder, Scythirus marched several divisions through the chaos toward the capital, New Rome. New Rome was quickly captured, as was Queen Filipa. Prince Hirak-Al Voramix had the Queen executed and renamed the capital city Stratika in lieu of Scythirus' strategic victory. A large section of New Haraumf was promptly annexed into the Scythirian Empire, but other nations such as Patrua, Egyria, and naturally Catholic Europe, refused to recognize the act.

The Scythirians named this successful campaign the "Harumfian Folly."

It Ended In Fire

A vast bombing campaign by the coalition was launched against Papal forces in Anatolia, while Egyria prepared what it hoped to be a stunning, war-ending all-out airstrike on Genesis City with the primary objective being to kill the Pope. The operation was codenamed "Black Lotus."

After an initial sweep by Patruan bombers, hundreds of Egyrian tactical and strategic bombers swarmed over the city, utterly decimating it. Although the Pope escaped, many other Catholic officials were killed in the debacle. At the same time, Egyrian paratroopers launched a daring raid on Rome, the - if not actual, than symbolic - heart of Catholic Europe, while the Coalition forces attacked Cyprus and smashed through Turkey and reached the opposite shore of the Hellespont from Genesis City, which was now in flames. Egyrian forces launched fireworks on their side of the strait to further demoralize the Catholic Europeans.

However, the climax would not be Black Lotus. The climax and end of the First War of Succession came when Scythirus suddenly sent two nuclear missiles, one flattening what was left of Genesis City, the other hitting Rome - destroying hundreds of priceless historical artifacts and thousands of Egyrian paratroopers in the process.

The Second War Of Succession

It was those events which eventually led to the Second War of Succession and the Egyrian Civil War.