The Erfar Great War

Redirected from The War of Duerléon succession, The Age of Destruction and Die großen Untergang.

The Erfar Great War, also known as: The War of Duerléon Succession, The Age of Destruction and Die großen Untergang, is a huge historic event that occurred in the Early years of the Age of Heroes on the continent of Erfar. It took place between The United Forces of the North (also known as the Coalition of Evil); with a combined military strength of just over 400,000, and The Coalition of Nations, with a combined strength of around 720,000 fighting troops.

The war was caused by a great many factors but sparked by the events of the Duerléon Succession. A disagreement over the next ruler of Duerléon between The Königratzfell Reich, Scheftspell and Duerléon sparked the conflict and lead to the mass invasion of the South. The conflict lasted for nearly four years and included many great battles and historic events which include, The Battle of Bowerbridge, The Sacking of the Free Shires, The Defeat of the dragon; Gummi, The Battle of The Bower, The Adrané Massacre, The Air Battle over Rhunai, The Blockade of Kimerley, The Sacking of Castellum, and The Battle of The Scar.

After four bloody years the war was finally won decisively by The Coalition of Nations, at The Battle of The Scar, where the last entrenched Northern forces were surrounded and Destroyed. It was a grim victory though. All in all over 2 million people lay dead: 680,000 of them being armed forces and the rest being civilians of the Free Shires and The Southern Republic.

The war resulted in a geopolitical Paradigm shift across the entire planet. The Armies of The Königratzfell Reich, The Southern Republic, Ewigland, The Elven Kingdoms, The Free Shires, and Errador, were either completely or partially destroyed. Almost the entirety of The Free Shires was devastated. The Königratzfell Reich was also crippled; the war being the leading cause of the End of the First Reich and the beginning of the so called Age of Uncertainty. Both the Reich and the Southern Republic were severely weakened as world powers, The Dwarven Clans and The Ozzies of Zee now rising to become the most powerful nations. Another player who came out on top was The Winter King; who utilised the huge amount of death to grow his powers.

Rough break-down of Forces
United forces of The North Coalition of Nations
 * The Königratzfell Reich - All legions and Fleets - 300,000
 * The Armies of Ewigland - 8 Ice Giants, 50,000 Wolfmen
 * The Royal Army of Bowerbridge - 50,000 Knights, soldiers and levies
 * The Fukboi Hive-Queen - The Queen and a few score supporting warriors
 * A number of Mercenary Companies - around 9,000 men
 * The Southern Republic - All armies, fleets and air fleets - 110,000
 * The Dwarven Clans - The Grand Army and a Submarine brigade - 210,000
 * The Elven Kingdoms - The Warrior Legions - 90,000
 * The Allied Ozzies of Zee - 2 Sea Worms, Fleets, zeppelins - 130,000
 * The Republic of Errador - Most Armies and Fleets - 35,000
 * The Bildscherm Celestials - 3 powerful CelestialsDwarfven Army.jpg
 * The Edege - The Great Stag and a number of units - 2200
 * The Duchy of Duerléon - All forces - 42,000
 * The Free Shire of Scheftspell - All warriors - 60,000
 * The Llanfern Confederacy - All forces - 17,800
 * Kingdom of Kimerley - All Forces - 30,700

Background
Historians can only agree that there were a great number of factors that led to the building tension between North and South, and so the war, and not which was the deciding one. Some say to know the true origin of the conflict, you must go all the way back to The Assault on Taranis, for it is then that the Königratzfell Reich first grew to hate the orcs and distrust all races. Others say you must go back further to the beginning of the Reich itself. Most agree that most of the gunpowder was laid in the last few hundred years of the Second Age. Anger started to grow over well evidenced accusations by the Southern Republic that the Reich had secretly financed the Ura Nationalists in the Ura Civil War, in an attempt to depose the hated Orcs. A number of assassinations and prisoner executions followed.

There was also a great deal of hatred between The Reich and The Ozzies of Zee. Long had the Otter Folk acted as a thorn in the Reich's side, disrupting trade and raiding small villages. Their chaotic and lawless lives were an insult that the ordered Reichen could not take. Just 100 years before the Age of Heroes began, the Reichen came into contact with the Ice Giants and Wolfmen of Ewigland. After an uneasy beginning, the two factions decided to ally. Praetorr would serve the Winter King for the support of his races in future wars to the south. The Reichen had been prepared for thousands of years to one day march forth and destroy their most hated enemies: The Free Shire of Scheftspell, The Ozzies of Zee and The Orcs of Taranis. Their overall plan being to eventually eliminate all races.

The Duerléon Succession Crisis
In the year 21TA of the Age of Heroes, long reigning Duke Marcel of Duerléon dies at the age of 62 with no direct heirs to the throne. His young nephew: Lerut was immediately swept to the throne, critics calling the boy of just 8 an inexperienced child. Matters were made worse by the fact that his mentor Sir Teroni, held a widely known dislike for the Llanfern Confederacy and had threatened to attack it on a number of occasions. Due to this, just five days later, a Southern Republic and Llanfern backed coup, peacefully deposed him and instead placed the Scheftspell born cousin of the Duke; Baron Nektich on the Throne. The next day the High Command of the Königratzfell Reich issued a command that Baron Nektich must abdicate immediately and be replaced with Sir Torren, another cousin of the Duke, a Bowerbridge Knight and famed Reichen sympathiser. Duerléon refused and one week later Nektich was assassinated by a hooded figure in a crowd. Duerléon briefly threatened to fall into civil chaos, before the old chancellor; Paston took command of the nation. President Maggie Stromess of the Southern Republic, called for peace and calm in the region, from all factions. Her pleas though came too late. On 3rd Freefell 22TA, a force of around 1000 Scheftspell warriors crossed the Rippenmarke Mountains and invaded the lands of the Königratzfell Reich. They burned a number of small villages out of revenge for the assassination of the Baron, before being surrounded by Reichen forces and killed to the last man. The powder had been sparked.

Opening Acts
The time had come for the Reich to act. On the 7th Freefell, this declaration was sent to all capitals of Erfar south of the Rippenmarke's:

"To the assortment of peoples and tribes of Southern Erfar, with the exception of the noble Elves of Lunis, direct from the Königratzfell Reich High Command.

''For too long, your lack of ability to follow a rigid and defined lifestyle has flagrantly opposed the natural order of creation. You have, at this time, ignored over one thousand polite offers of merciful euthanasia, and seem content to continue your selfish and barbarous blight on our serene continent.''

''You also refuse our most basic demand, the handover of the foul Orcish survivor’s descendants from our honourable victory at Taranis. As stated in the approved Rechtkodex, under the chapter for prisoners of war and civilian population, it has been our right to exterminate them for far too long.''

In addition, we fail to recognise your naïve system of “government” which you call your Southern Republic, and for that reason, we are unable to offer a full declaration of war, from one state to another, as we would have preferred.As such, we are left with no choice but to sharpen our blades, and the matter will be settled with smoke and blood on the fields of battle.

We look forward to putting your vile races to the sword, and burning your legacy to ashes.

Order, by Grace of God."

And with that two legions: a force of 80,000 Reichen Elite moved south across the Rippenmarkes and into the Northern Shires. The forces exterminated anyone and burned every settlement they found.

The council of six was called, an emergency war meeting between the five Free Shire Nations and the Southern Republic. President Stromess managed to convince the Shires to all work together for the first time in history. A provisional force of just under 50,000 Republic Soldiers was sent North to reinforce Kimerley and Llanfern. It was hoped that the Alliance could head off the Reichen Forces and drive them back before Winter. These hopes were completely dashed though, the Reichen avoided direct conflict for months by splitting their forces, harrying and raiding the local Shire forces. When the southern armies finally met the northern legions in battle, Winter had hit. On a low hill 30 miles north east of Bowerbridge, the Reich scored their first major victory. The combined Bowerbridge, Duerléon and Llanfern forces charged the Castellan 3rd Artillery Section on the hilltop. Little did they know that the Bildscherm Mountaineers had flanked them. The army was caught in the crossfire and slaughtered. The survivors fled south, saved by the brave actions of the Llanfern Marines who protected their back. As Winter came to an end, the passes through the Rippenmarkes reopened and the main Northern forces poured through. Hundreds of Thousands of Reichen, wolfmen lead by the mighty Princes and the horrifying Ice Giants. Battered, broken and terrified, Bowerbridge surrendered to the Königratzfell Commanders, their forces swapping sides. The Bowerbridge King bolstered his own forces by hiring a number of renown mercenary companies. The Southerners were now outnumbered by more than 3 to 1. Fearful for the future of her nation, President Stromess sent out pleas of help to all her allies and recommended all citizens of the Southern Republic to evacuate eastward.

Northern Advance
One year after the start of the war, the main Reichen forces started beelining for Scheftspell. Their intention was clear; to destroy the country and kill every last citizen. Sensing their doom, a decision was made that every Scheftspell citizen who wished to evacuate and any who wished to stay, could do so. Of the Scheftspell army, half headed south to back up the other Allies, and half made a final stand defending the city. The Reichen forces reached Scheftspell on the 11th of Freefell. Any hope by the defending warriors for an honourable last stand was quickly dashed. The Reich forces blasted the city and its defenders apart with cannons before overwhelming the walls and massacring ever man and woman. The city was then set aflame and burned to the ground. The Northern forces continued to march south towards Duerleon. There they met a combined force of Freeshire and Republic Troops. 50,000 Northerners faced off against 68,000 Southerners. Though they were outnumbered the Reichen and Wolfmen fought savagely. After five hours of little advance from either side, four Ice Giants arrived to reinforce the attackers. The southern troops panicked and started to rout. The formation broke within a minute and the field turned into a bloodbath, as the Southerners tried to escape the assaulting giants. Reichen fleets meanwhile sailed southwards, defeating the Republic fleets in the west and blockading Kimerley. In the east, they quickly drove the disorganised Ozzy ships from the Grausmeer Sea and threatened to attack the Southern Republic Port of: New Basalt. Now assured of their victory, the Königratzfell High Command decided to begin their policy of ethnic cleansing. Bowerbridge, though Allied with the North, was first to go. With their main armies fighting to the south, the city was undefended and every man, woman and child was slaughtered. Next was Duerleon, left open by the defeat of the Southerners, was sacked and destroyed. On the 26th Mitbrez 23TA, Northern forces finally reached the castle city of Llanfern. The defenders hardly put up a fight as the Giants smashed their walls down from across The Overn River. Most of the population had already flocked southward. When the Wolfmen charged in, there was only the 400 city guard to mercilessly kill. Now only Kimerley stood between the Northerners and the Southern Republic.

The Tide Begins To Turn
It was late Cooson when the Ozzy fleets rallied and brought the fight back to the Königratzfell Reich fleets. After a number of close battles, their greater navy numbers began to show. The Reichen fleets were forced to retreat back to the coast of Castellum in order to protect the city. It was at this point that The Winter King, brought up his greatest weapon: An Ancient Dragon - Gummi. Terrified, The Ozzies called for their own secret weapon: a pair of Giant Sea Worms. After a long and epic fight between the monsters, the impossible happened. Gummi was brought down and killed by one of the worms. The Ozzies sailed forward in victory and blockaded the Reichen within Castellum. Over in the west, help finally arrived for the Southern Republic. Both the First and Second Fleets of Errador, accompanied by a 30,000 strong land army crossed the Never-ending Ocean and joined with the remaining fleets of the Southern Republic. It was winter 23TA when 60 Coalition ships faced off against the 100 Reichen ships surrounding Kimerley. Outnumbered, it took the skill of the Halfling Admiral: Stemrumps to maneuver the faster Errador ships between the slower Reichen cruisers. Shockingly the strategy worked and the Reichen Western Fleet fled in disarray.

The Coalition now had control of the seas and Colonel Logan Wallace of the Southern Republic saw his chance. Gathering an army of 100,000 Republic, Free Shire and Errador troops, he marched northwards along the Freeshire coast and then moved inland between Bowerbridge and Llanfern. There on the 2nd Samwye 24TA, he flanked the Northern Forces, taking the 150,000 strong rear army completely by surprise. The infamous Battle of the Bower was the second largest battle of the war. The battle carried on for over a week, and though neither side won, it was a strategic victory for the Coalition forces. Both armies were almost wiped out. The remaining 35,000 Reichen and Bowerbridge troops retreated south to join the main part of their forces, while the 29,000 remaining coalition forces fled northwards to Bowerbridge. There they discovered the atrocities carried out by the Northerners. The battle is often cited as the moment the Northerners lost the war. Their forces, though still over 200,000 strong were now completely cut off from supplies and retreat in the far south of the Free Shires. The Northerners quickly realised that their only chance of victory was to move quickly to take the Republic Capital of Rhunai. The forces of Ewigland charged south and overwhelmed the Republic forces defending the bridges over the Great Scar Canyon. They also ordered their secret weapon that it was time. The Fukboi Hivequeen and her flying warriors had also crossed the Ocean and were heading for Rhunai. Not knowing this, President Stromess ordered the majority of the 30,000 remaining Republic soldiers to defend the road to the city.

The Coalition Gains the Upper Hand
On the 17th Icemark 24TA, the Dwarvern Clans, The Edege and the Elven Kingdoms finally sign the Coalition pact and officially join the war against the Northerners. 40,000 Elven Warriors move to defend Rhunai. Panicked the Reichen High Command activates their plan. An army of 110,000 Reichen, wolfmen and Ice Giants moved south and took the crossroads town of Az'Fell. They then went to move Westwards to Rhunai but are stopped in their tracks by the 70,000 coalition troops defending the road. The two sides quickly find themselves in stalemate. Meanwhile the Hivemother reaches the capital, terrifying the Republicans and starting to spread disease within its streets. The Southerners' shock is temporary though. President Stromess ordered the remaining war zeppelins to defend the city. What follows was the largest air battle in history. Unused to enemies fighting back, the Fukbois fell into disarray. By the end of the day, the Hivemother finally fell, destroying a quarter of the city in doing so. Only a single Republic Airship remained in the air. It was a cold quiet night in mid Floran 25TA, when the Ozzie fleets broke through the defending Reichen naval ships and launched a ground invasion of Castellum city. By the time the sun rose the next day, the Königratzfell city was under the control of the Otter folk and the commanders had all killed themselves. The city was sacked by the angry Ozzies and the remaining soldiers had barricaded themselves in the fort. When word of this reached the commanders in the south, many more took their own lives. The others hatched a plan to take revenge on the Coalition forces. A small force of 500 Reichen and Wolfmen set off into the Adrané desert and captured a group of 12,000 evacuated citizens of the Southern Republic. Men, woman and Children were all massacred. The Adrané Massacre would go down as one of the lowest points in Republic History. It was also the last victory the Northerners would ever enjoy. The night after a trio of Bildscherm Celestials appeared in the Northern headquarters and attempted to force a peace treaty with the leadership of the Wolfmen and Ice Giants. They violently refused and the following battle ended with all three sentinels and most of the Ewigland High Command dead. The Northern forces were now left almost leaderless.

At the start of summer that year, a Dwarven/Elven/Edege army of 265,000 arrived in New Basalt. All 100,000 Northern troops left in the Adrané, realised that this was the end and retreated back to the Scar for a last stand. On the 5th Aurist, the Battle of the Scar officially begun. By far the largest battle in the history of Dawn: 185,000 Northern troops completely cut off and poorly supplied defended the canyon against the 340,000 united Coalition forces. The Edege attacked first and faired very poorly, turning and retreating towards Rhunai. Next came the Dwarves and Elves. On the tenth day of battle, they crossed the Scar and started pushing the Northerners back. General Hanzen fought the Dwarf Queen Gernod in single combat and killed her, much to the dismay of the Dwarves. After this they fought even harder. On the eighteenth day the army of Colonel Logan Wallace, reinforced with 20,000 Ozzies arrives from the north and the Northerners are surrounded. They are killed almost to the last man as all but 7300 Bowerbridge and Mercenary troops refused to surrender. The battle comes to an end with horns and cheers of victory. The war has pretty much ended. 2 million are dead.

Aftermath
The lasting effects of the Great War are too numerous to count. The key ones though are as follows.

The fall of the old powers and the rise of new ones to replace them was a huge impact. The war basically caused a paradigm shift in world powers. The days of the Königratzfell Reich and the Southern Republic dominating geopolitics were over. Instead the Dwarven Clans, Otter Clans of Zee and the Errador Republic stepped up to take their places and lead Dawn into the third age. The Königratzfell Reich was almost entirely torn apart. The few returning Reichen returned to find a nation

in ruins. Castellum was under Ozzie occupation, Securus was in a state of civil war, only Fortia stood. The entire High Command and High ranking officers had either been killed or taken their own lives. The population had been decimated. The Reich was entering the Age of Uncertainty, where the entire planet watched to see which way they would turn. In the end, the new Command would decide to take the nation in the direction of greater evil, hatching their plans to end the world. The Free Shires suffered worse. By the war's end, only Kimerley remained standing. The city quickly grew into a hugely powerful city state as the surviving Shire folk flocked to start a new life there. In the burnt out ruins of the other cities a society of Vampires, drawn by the sheer amount of death, took up residence and started feeding upon the remaining humans. An effort was made by the Southern Republic and Kimerley to drive them out of Llanfern and Duerleon, but it failed.

The Southern Republic, though it got of much lighter than its northern neighbours was still hurt bad. In a brief conflict with the neighbouring Elven Kingdoms it was forced to cede territory as its military had been effectively crippled. President Stromess was seen as the President that lost the Republic its strength and was removed from power in a coup. She was later praised for her leadership which saved the republic during the war. Colonel Logan Wallace was promoted to General but was later killed aboard an exploding airship by the imprisoned Reichen: Lena Schentaile, during an attempt to remove a bomb from the lost and confused Giant; Crunk. Lena later travelled to her home city of Securus and helped lead a Socialist Revolution against the Reich.

In the end, The Erfar Great War changed the planet. The Second Age was marked by the growing strength of the Königratzfell Reich and the forces of Ewigland, and their tensions with the south. The Third Age became an entirely different beast, an entire new world. I think no scholar can disagree that the Great War, as horrific as it was, was the most important event in Dawn's long history.