The Second Moonstone War

The Second Moonstone War (also known as the Second Midlonian War or Second Independence War in the Freethinker Commonwealth; abbreviated 2MW) was a large, expansive and decisive armed conflict between the Kingdom of Midlonia and the Freethinker Commonwealth that took place between 7th April 1945 and November 5th 1952 that ended in a hard win victory for the defending Freethinkers. It was, by far, the bloodiest and costliest war either nation had participated in. The conflict and it's aftermath had a long and far reaching effect upon the societies, politics and military organisation of both countries.

Interwar History

Relations between Midlonia and the newly established Commonwealth soon normalised after the end of the First Moonstone War. After challenging and successfully usurping Midlonian control

Publicly, there was little indication at first of rising tensions, although an informal arms race had begun to develop as Freethinker strategy began to reform around control of the oceans, resulting in a new, powerful navy that increasingly rivalled and began to surpass that of their former Motherland. Increases in both air and land power and a rise in relative power against that of Midlonia spurred a large though generally hushed up rebuilding and rearming program in Midlonia from the late 1930s onwards.

Generally, until the prewar construction frenzy in Midlonia, the Commonwealth maintained a superior lead in warship production but behind in army vehicles and weaponary. Air force numbers remained in rough parity (Air Superiority was an important concern for both Governments) but in terms of technology most Midlonian designs were vastly superior to their Freethinker counterparts. Even after the prewar buildup, there was a rough parity in numbers in terms of Naval power (though thanks to the rushed construction and training there was a qualitative Freethinker advantage in this area).

See Also: Midlonia-Freethinker Commonwealth Relations

Timeline

7th April 1945: Third Battle of Navarre, effective destruction of the Freethinker Royal Navy surface fleet in the Navarre Naval Base by a combined missile and aerial attack at dawn (approx 0530 local). Official start of the Second Moonstone War. Running of the Northern Gate by the Midlonian Armada.

8th April 1945: The Midlonian Armada enters the Navarre Basin and lands strong ground forces on four strategic beachheads on the Southern Basin shoreline. Effective organised resistence to the landing operations is effectively crushed within the first few hours. The Battle of the Spire results in the completion of the first Midlonian objective, the taking of the Spire of Navarrok and the near annihilation of the Syrens of the Spire.

12th April 1945: The Canal Dash is conducted, saving some of the remaining Freethinker Home Fleet though the overall operation to deny the use of the Grand Shipping Canal fails.

20th April 1945: The Third Battle of Navarre ends, with complete occupation of the city by Midlonian forces. Remaining Freethinker army and air forces begin regrouping and reorganising to the south of the Carassian Mountains.

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5th November 1952: End of the Fourth Battle of Navarre and the final surrender of all Midlonian forces in the Commonwealth territories. Victory Day in the Freethinker Commonwealth. Sporadic firefights remain throughout the city and in the few remaining Midlonian held outlying areas as communication networks are fitfully restored.

2nd December 1952: Last resisting portions of the Midlonian army cease fighting as word of the final surrender finally arrives.

January - April 1953: Rough period of the Great Repatriation, the return, of and from both sides, of captured equipment and prisoners.

Major Battles

Third Battle of Navarre (1945, Land, Naval, Air)

• Running of the Northern Gate (1945, Naval)
• Battle of the Spire (1945, Land)
• The Canal Dash (1945, Naval)

Battle of the Pioneer Valley (1945, Land)

Operation Great Hunt (1945-1951, Land)

Battle of the Whitestone River (1945, Land, Air)

Battle of Goodman's Ridge(1946, Land)

Battle of the Delta Pass (1946, Land)

Battle of Diadore Bay (1948, Naval)

The Florins Campaign (1950, Land, Air)

Fourth Battle of Navarre (1952, Land, Naval, Air)

Aftermath

The Freethinker Commonwealth

Militarily, there was a signficant institutional shift towards creating an infrastructure to support the new tactics and makeup of the Freethinker armed forces.

Midlonia

Moonstone Redemption

See Also

History of The Freethinkers

Footnotes

(1) A conservative but generally agreed on figure, though some sources provide a range from 9 to 16 million casualties based on different statistical methods.