Reddit War

==General Info==
The Reddit War was a significant event in WYSI history where Big Chungus attempted to invade and conquer Britain. Eventually, the Redditors were defeated, but not after a long and harsh war in the British homeland. In many ways, it is considered a precursor to the Reddit Invasion of America, which had very similar goals by Big Chungus. The war is often brought up by Napoleon, who is one of the few characters known to have fought in this war. It began in April of 1851, and ended on November 11th, 1854. It was ended with the historic Battle of London, and forever changed the course of history. 
== Pre-War Preparations ==
Before their invasion, the Redditors secured the caves under Britain by digging under the ocean Minecraft style. The Reddit National Army was likely living underneath Britain for a year or two while preparing for their invasion. They also formed a collaborative government for the Sewer People called the Sewer-people Honorary Invasion Theocracy, or S.H.I.T for short. The plans were for the Redditors to control all of England, Scotland and Ireland, and for S.H.I.T to administrate the sewers (which weren't very large or encompassing). Big Chungus also planned a large scale construction project to reshape Ireland into his image. 
== Conscription ==
The Reddit war was infamous in its extensive conscription. During Peacetime, there would often be around 120,000 soldiers throughout the british empire, and another 200,000 or so soldiers in the East Inda Company's 'Presidential Armies'. In the Fall of 1851, it became clear to the British Parliment the extent of the Reddit force invading their homeland. As a result, mass conscription was eventually implimented. At any given time during the reddit war, the combined British forces averaged at about 700,000 troops. However, accounting for men who conscripted and signed onto the war in later years to replace the dead and wounded, the total number in the British army and militias comes to about 1,123,000 men (1,285,000 including the East India Company's forces and the Portugese Expeditionary Force). After the war, about 13% of all men living in Great Britain had fought in the Reddit War (either through official military service or service through a local Militia). This had greatly devastated the country as a whole, and as a result opinion on warfare dropped as people saw the horrors of war. However, there was also growing sentiment form the populace to upkeep a large military force in Great Britain for defense of the nation should the Redditors ever return, leading to a paradoxical situation where the military budget grew, but almost all acts of war would be heavily frowned upon.
== First Hostilities ==
On April 20th, cave systems across the British isles shook as the Redditors advanced to the surface. Quickly, they were able to secure "cave heads," and quickly began organizing their armies They won some small, early on victories in northern Scotland and Ireland. Quickly, parliament declared a state of war, and ordered the complete mobilization of the country's armed forces. By the beginning of May, the British army had amassed defensive armies in London, Dublin and Edinburgh. Meanwhile, the Redditors had concentrated much of their strength in Ireland, northern Scotland, and Wales. Smaller skirmishes continued for a few more weeks until the Reddit army was ready to attack the British 3rd army in Sussex. 
== Notable Battles ==
=== Battle of South Bridge ===
General Oz was preparing to move south from East Anglia in an attempt to surround London from the North. The English prepared a defense on the south side of the Iron Bridge to block Reddit passage. Reddit troops arrived in sight of the bridge on June 12th, 1851. The power of Reddit artillery battered the English positions, which caused some breakups in formation. Hoping for a quick and decisive victory to prove themselves, careless officers began ordering their troops to advance closer to the bridge. The redditors continued to fire, and began to approach the bridge as well. While the British could have held off the Redditors on the bridge, their artillery continued to break up formation and panic officers. One major ordered his men to charge the bridge, despite no hope of breaking through. Notably, Napoleon was a part of this charge, as well as Asgore (who eventually gave the order to retreat and regroup from said charge, despite his senior officer's wishes of glory). As Napoleon recovered the battle flag and charged into the Reddit formations, General Oz looked him in the eyes and shot him straight in his right ball, leaving him for dead. As this charge failed, officers began fleeing the battle. British troops hurriedly withdrew from their defensive positions due to a risk of being overrun and a lack of present leadership. Eventually, their officers regrouped with them and ordered the army to retreat north to Oxford. A majority of Sussex would remain under Reddit control for the rest of the war, leaving London open to Attack. This Battle is mentioned by Oz in TomTord: When You See It You'll Shit Bricks Act 4 Chapter 99: Trauma Dumping, in which he confirms this is the battle where he shot off Napoleon's ball.
=== Battle of Oxford ===
Some time after the Battle of South Bridge, the 3rd army's position is attacked by a smaller Reddit force from the north. The Reddit army proceeded to surround the town, battering the town with mortar fire and cannon fire. Despite word from the capitol of a relief army on the way, hasty officers ordered a counter offensive in attempt to force the Redditors to withdraw. This plan would be put into action on October 4th, 1851. Colonel Sanders attempts to prevent his regiment from participating in the offensive, but a higherup officer commanded he do so. Rather bravely, the colonel led his troops directly. Meanwhile, the third cavalry Regiment charged out of the city's defenses. Hoping to take down the Reddit cannons, they were instead anihilated by Reddit grapeshot tearing them to shreds. In a moment of brilliance, the young major Charlie Tuna orders his forces to charge through into the town's defenses as a surprise attack against the British. Despite the poor position this put the reddit troops in, the British were not prepared to defend, and their lines were quickly broken. Charlie Tuna was especially brutal during this battle, slicing British troops to shreds with his katana. Commanding officers ordered a general retreat south towards the relief army, and quickly managed to hold off Charlie's forces long enough to withdraw from the town. Colonel Sanders stayed behind to have an epic wrestling match with Reddit colonel Chicken Man, who he proceeded to beat the shit out of before withdrawing from the town a legend and a champion. Despite Colonel Sander's psychological victory, this was a major defeat for the British. This battle is offhandedly mentioned in an unfinished comic.
=== Battle of Didcot ===
After leaving a token force to hold Oxford, Major Charlie Tuna advanced south towards Didcot in an attempt to reach London from the open north. Major Charlie advanced southward to attempt to capture this army, not knowing of the reinforcing First army preparing to move towards London. He prepared his offensive and began bombarding the town with artillery. While this surprise shelling disorganized the Third army, they were quickly able to reorganize outside of the town. Colonel Sanders ordered a counter barrage targeting their artillery instead of their infantry. This resulted in Major Charlie's strategy falling apart. Nonetheless, he ordered his troops to begin firing, and slowly begin advancing to prepare for a charge. After a long and bloody exchange of fire, Major Charlie desperately ordered a charge towards a thin part of the British line. Colonel sanders noticed this, and ordered his forces to converge. They were able to hold the line, but the Reddit forces were fierce, and Charlie Tuna was brutal. Many men died, but after some time the Redditors began to rout. Colonel sanders did not order a counter charge, fearing that this may have been a false retreat. He instead ordered stationary firing on the Reddit troops, which caused some more Reddit casualties. After a long time of losing, the British had finally secured a much needed victory on November 31st, 1851. Napoleon mentions this Battle along side the Battle of Oxford in an unfinished comic.
=== Battle of Bristol ===
The Reddit Second army had been pushing from central wales down towards southern england, and had finally come back around to Bristol to encircle it. Bristol had become fully encircled by Reddit troops in February of 1852. The British troops had withstood the Reddit onslaught, and a few excursions from the British force had weakened the Redditors. The Reddit Second army was busy holding onto Wales, however, and so only a small force was able to encircle the city. On April 8th, 1852, the British 1st Army came to relieve the city. Realizing this, the Reddit Second army scrambled to mount a defense. Due to attack from the front and behind, they moved north towards Glouchester.
=== Battle of Glouchester ===
On April 28th, The British 1st Army arrived in Glouchester after chasing the smaller Reddit force out of Bristol. The Redditor force had been reinforced slightly from forces in southern Wales. The Redditors attempted to weaken the right flank of the British with their cavalry, but they were unable to make an opening. The Redditors congregated their forces to put pressure on the British right flank, which waivered slightly, the british tactically retreated and congregated their forces. The redditors fought hard against the larger force, but after many losses they were unable to justify using this manpower on Glouchester. Just as the British thought they were going to lose, the Redditors withdrew. The british did not follow the Reddit force, and instead moved back south.
=== Battle of Birmingham ===
Major Charlie Tuna was assigned to attach to the larger Reddit First Army after his recent failure at Didcot. The Army focused on advancing towards the coal-rich north of England after defeats in the south, and set their sights on Birmingham. The British 2nd Army moved from the south to defend the city, and managed to mount a defense in the South-East of the city On June 26th, 1852. The Redditors used their superior artillery to fire upon the Army's flanks and cavalry. This forced the British to prioritize a strategy using almost entirely infantry supported by some Artillery. The Redditors then fully engaged the British, who were outnumbered by the larger Reddit force. The British fought hard, but the Redditors exploited the weakened flanks with their cavalry. They also attacked the artillery companies and forced them to withdraw. After realizing their armies were being flanked by the Reddit Infantry, the British moved to withdraw. The Second Army moved further northward, chased by the Reddit First army.
=== Siege of Dublin, Ireland ===
After two months of Reddit Barrage, the 4th army in Dublin was beginning to waiver. Famously, Arthur Wellesley himself sailed into the city to encourage the defense of his hometown. Motivated by a call to defend their homes from the greatest English statesman the world had seen (who was also from ireland), the Irish troops were able to mount a counter-offensive against the Redditors. In Ireland, the Redditors had less experienced troops, expecting for parliament to largely give the island up for lost. However, the Irish troops fought hard, causing the first major Reddit defeat in the war on August 13th, 1852. The following month, Arthur Wellesley discovered that these men he had rallied were catholic Irish and weren't just protestant British people born in Dublin like him. Due to his old age and extreme racism, upon hearing this information he died of cringe and keeled over on the ground like a cartoon character on September 14th, 1852. Not wanting to explain to the nation that the leader of the army and beloved statesman Arthur Wellesley died of cringe because he was racist, Parliament declared that he died of a stroke. Much of the country mourned, with the notable exception of Napoleon, who celebrated his abusive father dying of cringe. Napoleon mentions his father's death while scolding the British People Spearmen in an unfinished comic.
=== Fall of Edinburgh ===
After a 4 month long siege by the Redditors, the desperate 2nd army attempted to break through the Reddit encirclement. Many Sewer People were involved in this fight, overpowering many of the Scottish troops, and fighting unlike anything seen before this point. Upon this defeat, Officers ordered the evacuation of the city by sea. Almost the entire 2nd army was able to escape by sea, but few who ere not able to were captured by the Redditors on November 16th, 1852.
=== Battle of Keswick ===
On Feburary 8th, 1853, The Reddit Third Army marched towards the town of Keswick from their campaign in Scotland. The British put up a defense with the remnants of the 2nd Army, which engaged with the Redditors on the 8th. The force was led by Major General DeGroot (A distant relative of the Demoman from TF2), who deployed an inventive strategy using the nearby mountains. He positioned many of his artillery companies on the mountains so that they could fire from both sides at the Redditors coming down the mountain pass. He then positioned the rest of his army northwest of the town of Keswick to block the Redditors from advancing past the mountain pass. The Redditors took many casualties, but due to a numerical advantage the redditors managed to overwhelm the British force after about 3 days of fighting. The British 2nd Army retreated south and were far more agile than the larger Reddit force, who also had to account for their many losses.
=== Battle of Portsmouth ===
On October 3rd, the Reddit First Army Engaged the British 3rd Army north of Portsmouth. The Third Army did not defend from the thinnest point of the peninsula, but instead defended directly from the north east to meet the Redditors moving southwest towards Portsmouth. The British were set on using a strategy emphasizing artillery and shot barrage to utilize the new British technological advantage. When the Redditors arrived, the British fired at their cavalry with artillery, but were only able to wipe out some of the Reddit cavalry. The rest of the cavalry attempted to flank the British. Major Monopoly was ordered to guard the right flank, but instead he charged his men towards the Reddit left flank seeking glory. He took heavy losses, and the Redditors managed to break the British right flank. The British noticed they were being pushed southward, so they retreated some to recollect their forces. Many men were killed by Reddit gunfire. When they reconvened, they tried to fight on but they had lost too many men. They retreated under cover of Artillery fire to delay the Redditors. The British moved behind the walls of Portsmouth, but were quickly overwhelmed by the Redditors and forced to flee by sea to Plymouth.
=== Battle of Vicarstown ===
As Redditors took the city of Edinburgh, they desired to conquer the islands of Mann and Sodor. They gathered an army and prepared to cross into Vicarstown from Barrow-in-Furness On October 24th, 1853. The British army destroyed the wooden bridge in preparation, but the Redditors prepare to cross the Sodor Channel. They attempt to commandeer a few civilian ships, and some British galleys are ordered to head to the island. What troops they were able to amass and transport arrived on the island south of Vicarstown in Norramby. The 52nd Oxfordshire Light Infantry had been stationed in Vicarstown alongside the 96th Regiment of Foot from Lancaster. The two regiments joined forces alongside a citizen militia to defend Vicarstown from the top of the hill (which now houses Henry's Tunnel). Using the two sides of the hill to fire at the Redditors from 2 directions at once, they were able to wipe out the Reddit cavalry. The Infantry, however, was prepared to split into two and fire upon both hills. Reddit cannons were fired, barrages were sent at the much smaller British forces, many lives of both the Soldiers and citizens were lost. However, after hours of fighting and many failed charges, the Redditors withdrew and were chased down the island. They were finally captured at the small village of Ballahoo and kept imprisoned on the island until they were released at the end of the war. After the war, to commemorate this great victory over the Redditors and the great sacrifice of the people of Vicarstown, a monument and plaque was erected on the island at the closest point to the mainland, which is now right next to the Vicarstown Bridge. 
=== Fall of Plymouth ===
The 3rd army had been battered and bruised throughout the war, and had since been stationed at Plymouth. This was in an attempt to make the First Army appear larger and stronger in size to ward against Reddit attack. However, General Oz was fully aware of this, and ordered his troops to encircle the city. After a 3 month long siege, Oz was able to pierce a sizeable breach in the city's walls. He ordered for his artillery to fire through this breach and batter the British troops, causing them to lose their offensive positions. He then charged his men through the breach, resulting in brutal close quarters combat. Despite many fallen Redditors, the British were unable to hold their defensive lines, and withdrew towards the city's port. However, Oz had quickly sent is Reddit cavalry to cut off the English. Desperately, the first army charged through to the port and withdrew through the sea, leaving the third army to their fate in a tactical withdrawal. Many commanding officers escaped as well, leaving the third army to attempt to flee through the city gates. While many of them were able to escape, many more were killed and captured. At some point in this battle, Napoleon and Clay are separated from their unit, and Clay is heavily wounded. Despite Napoleon's best efforts, Clay dies to his injuries on February 14th, 1854. Eventually, a devastated Napoleon is able to find his way back home to London, where he likely finds out about the death of his adoptive father W.D. Gaster.
=== Battle of London ===
After many smaller battles attempting to see the weakness of Reddit, British upper command determined that Reddit was gathering troops for a large offensive of London. Parliament would not allow a lengthy siege of London, as they determined that such a siege would result in the fall of the empire. British troops gathered in the city, preparing to defend it to the death. As Reddit troops approached, a very large British army prepared to defeat them, in what they hoped would turn the tide of the war. As the Redditors neared cannon distance, a strange song began playing throughout the entire battlefield. Turn Down for What began playing. As the Redditors prepared to fire their cannons, the beat began to drop. The Redditors fired along with this beat drop, marking the beginning of the Battle of London. Both sides exchange cannon fire as the Redditors approach. The British begin to fire on the Redditors as soon as they see the whites of their eyes. This first fire begins to give the British the much needed edge. However, the sheer number of Redditors at this battle meant that it would take a lot to defeat them. As the Redditors began closing in, they began shooting as well. The large plumes of smoke caused low visibility causing Reddit cannons to be less effective. The experienced British Artillery companies however were very much used to operating with this much smoke, and they suffered less. In a stroke of genius, the British tried to thin out a small portion of line leading to some of their cannons in an attempt to bait Reddit Cavalry into charging headfirst into them. Upon their cavalry doing so, the line split into two, where both sides of the lines as well as the cannons were firing towards the Reddit Cavalry, absolutely destroying it. Upon this loss, Oz ordered a charge on the British troops. They were torn apart from artillery fire and musket fire, but they smashed into the British line. Bloody close quarters combat began, and it became increasingly unlikely that the British would come out victorious. During this Fighting, Big Chungus was nearly shot and killed, but Wayne's father leaped in front of him just in time, saving the dictator's life. This would result in Wayne being granted a high place in Sewer Person Society. Snoopy would make his historic flight in this battle, gunning down Reddit artillery from above. This marks the first time that aircraft would be used in battle and some argue it is the first powered flight (although some historians recognize the Coisa Incrível from Brazil in 1853 as the first aircraft.) Just when it all was looking hopeless, a plan was hatched by Rick Sanchez. The man had turned himself into a pickle by the instructions of a mysterious man of the ancient 'story ender' order, and was quickly building up ramps at lightning speed to advance behind enemy lines (like in Fortnite). Noticing this plan, officers began setting up a diversion for Big Chungus. Napoleon was part of the diversionary charge straight towards Big Chungus, and just when the Redditor was about to tear him to shreds, a voice rang out across the battlefield. "I turned myself into a pickle field marshal! I'M PICKLE RIIIICK!!!!" ~Rick Sanchez, lost message on an old discord server.At this moment, Pickle Rick thrust himself up Big Chungus's Asshole, which caused the dictator to get a boner, launching Napoleon several feet. With this, he got embarrassed, and he and the other Redditors began slowly retreating back to the caves. For some time afterward, the British continued firing until it was clear that the Redditors were really just leaving. After 3 years, 6 months, and 22 days, the Reddit war had ended on November 11th, 1854 in a decisive British victory.
== Aftermath ==
While there was no official peace treaty, the Redditors never returned, and even left a large pile of "reddit gold" behind, likely as war reparations. This "reddit gold" was melted down into normal gold and used to fund the reconstruction of Britain. The Reddit-Sewer people collaborative government S.H.I.T was dissolved, since Big Chungus decided that the Sewer People sect of Apa Worship was too close to the religion of the French, and therefore would be unpopular amongst his ranks. Also, he had just now realized it spelled 'Shit'. 
The 'Reconstruction Era' after this war helped modernize Britain, and propelled the country into the late 19th century. This era lasted about 6-14 years, and included political, economical and military reforms sweep the nation. Most notable is the Military reforms, the size of the army was exponentially increased after the Cardwell reforms, as many in government feared a return of the Redditors. This increase of military presence eventually led to Britain's total victory in the great war, as well as largely serving as Europe's protector against the french afterwards which maintained the stability of Elizabeth's new empire.
However, the Reddit war also brought great change into British politics. Before the war, opinions on British Imperialism were almost unanimously either very positive or at the very least apathetic. After the long and hard war, many British people felt that the large empire which they had spent so much money and lives creating had not helped them in the slightest when they needed help most. The British East India company got much of the blame for this, as India the British Army had left the largest amount of troops stationed (around 250,000) due to the 'Presidential Armies' owned directly by the British East India company. This was not helped by the beginning of the Second Opium War, in which these Presidential armies were largely involved. While the Company had been mostly nationalized by 1857, the existence of 'Indian Armies' to defend a foreign land remained very controversial among the British populace, and politicians from both major parties blamed the poor performance during the early years in the Reddit war on the country's large focus on Imperialism. This all led to calls to 'abandon' India entirely in order to better defend the British isles and to decrease spending on colonial pursuits. In 1862, Parliament passed the first bills granting certain freedoms to India and moving to set the region up as a confederated state. In 1878, India was granted full independence as a confederation of Monarchistic states (mostly based upon the previously existing 'princely states' system). Eventually, India would fully unite as a singular republic in 1904. 
While Britain did take some small part in the Scramble for Africa, many regions they colonized in the continent had already been colonized for some time (such as the ivory coast and South Africa). South Africa also notably did not expand into Zulu lands (despite a close call involving the governor of the territory attempting a rouge invasion in 1879). The only holdings in Africa actually taken in this time by the British were the regions of Egypt, Sudan and Botswana. Russia ended up making a small colony around Djibouti and Somaliland, while Germany colonized Kenya and Uganda. The lands that were often called "Zimbabwe and Zambia" in european counties remained independent alongside Liberia (although starting as a method for wealthy slave owning Americans to "resettle" formerly enslaved people in Africa.),Ethiopia (these were the only two independent African areas in real life, although in real life Ethiopia would lose independence during WW2) , Songhai, The Central African Republic, what is today known as Chad, Malawi, Eswatini and Burkina Faso.
This war had also reinforced the idea of 'splendid isolation', which saw the country avoid long term alliances (particularly on the European continent, as well as seeing the British Empire turn away from active warfare, instead opting for a more defensive army. One notable exception to this was the Equestrian war in 1872, which saw the British invade the nation of Equestria due to, "some stupid fucking nonsense in God-Damned Australia, this damn empire is going to cost me my fucking career" ~A letter from Sir Walter Barttelot, 1st Baronet to Lord Frederick Cavendish (and yes those are real people, I did NOT make up those stupid names), 1871. Causes of the war are confusing, and generally the British Army would like you to forget the time that horses blew them up with artillery, however the point here is that the war was a very special case in which the British public felt that an invasion of this nation was a defense of their state. This is why Equestria retained independence (although gave many concessions such as trade rights and war reparations), and also part of the reason why Equestrian-British relations today remain rather cold.
Many men who had fought in this war, including Napoleon, Oz and Asgore, were forever changed, and led to the labeling of what is now known as P.T.S.D. to be labeled as "soldier's heart," as doctors assumed it was due to heart injury caused by explosive shells shaking the body. "Soldier's heart" diagnoses would peak again in America during the Civil war. A small portion of Reddit soldiers (most notably Major Charlie) splintered from the rest of Reddit, believing that Big Chungus and Oz had become weak and were unable to take Britain. This sect allegedly chose Realistic Mario to be their secret leader. They were far too small to be any real threat to anyone, so they have acted more like a terrorist organization over the years. While they still exist today, their numbers are quite small and many pay them no mind, especially when other paramilitary groups (such as the Cart Narcs and the Hussieites) are far more prominent and far more annoying (although the redditors are far more dangerous most of the time)
== Known and Notable Combatants ==
=== British ===
*Asgore
* Arthur Wellesley
* Buzz Killington
* Clay
* Colonel Sanders
* Napoleon
* Rick Sanchez
* Rouge the Bat
* Shadow the Hedgehog
* Skips
=== Reddit ===
* Amethyst
*Barnacle Boy
* Big Chungus
* Charlie Tuna
*Ernie the Giant Chicken
*Heat miser and Snow miser
*Mermaid Man
*Nostalgia Critic
*Realistic Mario (allegedly)
*Wayne's Father
*ReviewJak
== Fun Facts ==
* Reddit cannons during this period sounded like re-verbed farts
* Despite both having acronyms that sound like toilet humor, F.A.R.T and S.H.I.T are completely unrelated.
* It is likely this is the first major war that Big Chungus and Oz had fought
* It is unknown if Oz and Big Chungus broke up before or after the war ended.
*Turn Down for What had lots of controversy when it first released in 2013, as it was clear to Reddit war veterans that the song was based off of the one that had rung out across the Battle of London. DJ snake and Lil' John deny knowledge that their song and the one that mysteriously played during the Battle of London were the same.
*For some unknown reason, Mermaid man and Barnacle Boy reside in a British old folk's home, despite being heroes back in the U.S.R. This might hint at the fact that they may have begun to follow Realistic Mario after the Reddit war, or that perhaps they attempted to exist in British society after the Reddit War.
*Due to British involvement in the Reddit War, the British did not participate in the Crimean war, neither did the French due to being hated or the Sardinians due to not being important enough on their own. Because of this, the Ottoman Empire likely quickly lost the war, losing some territory to Greece and Russia. These losses eventually culminated in the Ottoman Empire losing all European territory in 1913.
*This page is currently the longest page fully written out on the wiki, all others longer than it were mostly copy-pasted from wikipedia or other wikis. It keeps getting longer due to a certain porksodafan's "wereautism", in which they become very interested in the reddit war only after midnight on rare instances. Any random person stumbling across this wiki who can guess which porksodafan has the "wereautism" gets a hypothetical cookie.
Category:Events
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