Pre-Empire Grienzland History

Prior to 1806, the Grienzen states existed in a loose defensive alliance known as the Devout Hassonian Realm, a central Uropan remnant of a previous even larger, continent-spanning empire. This ended entirely after the wars against what is now the Gallian Republic shattered the previous long-lasting world order all across Anfang.
==The Grienzen Union (1812-1849)==
After finally defeating the expansionist ambitions of the Gallians, the various Uropan countries were left diplomatically aimless and economically isolated as a result of the end of the previous world order. Gallia had forced every other major power to determine trade deals based on what would benefit its own citizens most, as well as enforcing harsh sanctions against nations which did not comply with its dominance. Once this arrangement had been dismantled, it left the Grienzen states able to reexamine the state of their economies to update trade treaties and industries to the latest of technological advances. 
The disruptive nature of such an alteration was folded into the chaos after the war, and by the time the situation had calmed, every Grienzen state had agreed to a collection of economic reforms and infrastructure standardization. Called the Grienzen Union, the series of commerce agreements put an end to tariffs and taxes involving import and export between the Grienzen states. Changes to infrastructure allowed trains to travel all over the region without need for transfer due to rail incompatibility. And slowly the sharing of goods and cultural products promoted a closer familiarity between peoples in the different states.
The Grienzen Union never grew beyond an economic coalition due to the inclusion of both Kierstia and Preusvia, the two largest and most powerful Grienzen states. There had been talk of excluding one or the other due to disagreements about which would set the regional standards, but diplomats from Grand Breteyne interfered to bribe Kierstia with financial incentives to remain within the Union while allowing Preusvian standards to prevail. Brettish diplomats admitted in other nations that they intended to ensure that the Grienzen Union would not have a single, strong hand at the wheel, but rather two separate pairs of hands, each pulling in a different direction. This arrangement lasted in an uneasy state of unproductive feuding until 1849, when unrest swept the continent.
==The Summer Revolts of 1849==
Main article: Summer Revolts of 1849
In 1849 a wave of revolutionary fervor swept through the Grienzen Union just as it was gripping the rest of the Uropa. Demanding better living conditions for workers, voting rights for all citizens, an official national formation instead of the informal nature of the Grienzen Union, and a Constitution by which a singular king had to rule, the rebels brought most cities to a standstill. It was during this time that a Grienzen Cassumite named Franz Mordechai published his treatise that later went on to become the founding ideology of the Ascendancy of Man.
While this chaos was eventually quelled, it destroyed the Grienzen Union in the process. Kierstia turned its back on its allies to the North and focused entirely on ending uprisings and ethnic conflicts within its holdings of Karpania and especially Seruiani. The noose of revolution closed in around the governments of the other Grienzen states, but when they acquiesced to the rioters and agreed to a national union based upon a heavily restrictive constitution, King Walter II of Preusvia refused to go along with this mockery of monarchical authority. Instead, he brought the Preusvian military to bear, to tear down the barricades erected in the cities, and after securing their own cities, they moved to aid every Grienzen state until order was entirely restored.
===Northern Grienzen League (1849-1864)===
Once the unrest in Uropa had been put to an end, there remained a period of uncertainty about the future of diplomatic relations among the Grienzen states. It was impossible to ignore Kierstia's neglect of the situation outside its own holdings, especially contrasted as it was against Preusvia's helpful assistance in saving many of the monarchs of the smaller states. As a result, most Grienzen states turned to Preusvia to lead them going forward, even after the refusal for actual national unity. This time the political body took the form of a military defense pact, as the other states had seen that Preusvian soldiers were willing and able to march to the aid of other territories, even without any potential reward. 
Several states did not participate in the Northern Grienzen League as a result of Kierstia's exclusion. Bayernia and several Lesser States such as Gerde, Sachden, and Hugelket all refrained from joining, as their ties to Kierstia were simply too high. Gerde and Bayernia did not like Preusvia's heavy preference for the Church of Unity as they shared Kierstia's Synenolic leaning, while the other two did not wish to fall into Preusvia's sphere of influence and risk becoming absorbed by it. 
===Kiersto-Karpanian Dual Empire (1849-1888)===
Meanwhile Kierstia was undergoing considerable changes during this period. With Karpania rediscovering its own nationalistic urges, there were a number of uprisings centered around removing Kierstian influence brought about as a result of diplomatic marriages centuries prior. This national independence movement spread in large part due to the speed of Half-Horse messengers, carrying poems and ballads about national sovereignty from town to town as fast as their four legs could take them. It looked like the situation was heading toward war between Karpania and Kierstia, but the prospect of fighting such a capable Race made Kierstia not want to escalate. At the same time, the loyalty of the Human populations of Karpania to the Humans of Kierstia meant that the Lovasz Half-Horses in Karpania would face a drawn-out and possibly extremely destructive war if the situation devolved into that.
A solution came about through entirely diplomatic means, after the newly formed Karpanian Public Parliament sent representatives to the capital of Kierstia to discuss a path forward. Despite the fervor and intensity of the desires of the Lovasz, the individuals who had been elected to represent Karpania sought legitimacy through diplomatic success, and as such they settled on a compromise: both Kierstia and Karpania would participate equally in the running of the empire, as partners. And thus the Kiersto-Karpanian Dual Empire was formed.
The Dual Compromise was fiercely unpopular amongst the Lovasz Half-Horses, who wanted total freedom and to not be held to their previous responsibilities to aid Kierstia in subjugating the Sclaveni Humans living in in Seruiani as well as Karpania. Still, it was one of the few solutions that presented itself without any immediate bloodshed, and despite the unhappiness, most Lovasz went along with it for the time being. The arrangement did bring with it assistance in developing Karpania and helping to modernize its industries and infrastructure, and by the time the Dual Empire dissolved in 1888, the relationship between the two states remained remarkably positive.
==Danmag War of 1864 ==
===Background===
This state of affairs continued apace until 1864. It was at this point that the country of Nordia decided to annex the states of Dansvig and Schleissmag to its south. They had previously been protectorate provinces of Nordia for many centuries, but they had secured an agreement in the late 15th century from the King of Nordia that their independence would be respected and individual right to rule not infringed. The state of Schleissmag had a population consisting entirely of ethnic Grienzens, while Dansvig was divided in half between ethnic Grienzens in the south and ethnic Nordians in the north. Nevertheless, when Nordia decided to annex both territories, they requested Preusvia for help defending their autonomy, and so Preusvia turned to the Northern Grienzen League with its intent to respond militarily.
Due to the majority ethnic-Grienzen population of the contested regions, the rest of the Grienzen states agreed without question to assist Preusvia in the defense of their folk. Surprisingly, Preusvian King Walter II went to Emperor Ludwig IV of Kierstia to invite them to join in the coalition. Motivated by a desire to not look any more disinterested in Grienzen affairs, Kierstia agreed to send their armies as well, though there was no attempt to hide their intention that they wished to ensure that Preusvia would not gain the territories of Dansvig and Schleissmag and thus become more powerful than it already was. Along with Kierstia, Sachden and Hugelket joined in with the motivation of coming to the defense of ethnic Grienzens. Gerde and Bayernia remained neutral, however, citing the lack of Synenolic practitioners in Dansvig and Schleissmag. 
===Hostilities===
The war itself against Nordia was over nearly as swiftly as it began. Nordia sent several armies south, digging in along the border with Preusvia and reinforcing key towns in Dansvig itself. Kierstian troops besieged those towns in Dansvig while Preusvian forces met and overcame Nordian soldiers, forcing them to fall back into Nordia. While Kierstian battalions became bogged down clearing cities, the Preusvians set up a semi-circular formation, allowing the Nordian army to concentrate south of Duttebul, a border town. They set up a military HQ there and dug in fortifications in preparation for the Preusvian charge. 
Instead of charging however, the Preusvians had taken the time to set up the largest artillery battery the world had ever seen at the time. For two days, Preusvian artillery blasted the Nordian position until nothing remained but craters, at which point their army marched north with nearly no resistance. At this point, peace was offered to Nordia if it would relinquish its claims on Dansvig and Schleissmag, but it refused, demanding to at least gain control of Dansvig. When peace talks broke down, the bombardment resumed, with Preusvian artillery positioning at Duttebul now to attack the secondary defensive line north of the city. 
After the Kierstian forced the surrender of two separate Nordian divisions in Dansvig, the Nordian army retreated from Duttebul in totality. They repositioned on Alssund, a nearby island with easy access to the Nordian sea. They were expecting Nordian naval vessels to pick them up so as to be transported further north, but a miscommunication resulted in a significant delay in the dispatching of Nordian ships. This gave the Preusvian army time to catch up and array their artillery toward the island. When calls to surrender were refused, the Preusvians unleashed a ferocious shelling of the island, entirely eliminating the Nordian army. By this point, the Kierstian army was making inroads into undefended Nordia, and as a result, Nordia surrendered. 
===Results===
Nordia was forced to cede some of its own southern territories – which were already home to primarily ethnic Grienzens – to Preusvia and Upper Luthairingia as an indemnity for starting the war. Grand Breteyne oversaw this transfer to ensure that only areas with majority ethnic Grienzens were transferred, and King Walter II agreed to their ruling as a neutral third party, largely to prevent further increases in tension in Uropa. 
When it came to Dansvig and Schleissmag (referred to singularly as Danmag) under the care of the Northern Grienzen League plus Kierstia as a "Protectorate of the Grienzen States." While the title of this arrangement sounded strong, the actual terms laid out for what that position would mean were left vague and unclear. Some believed this meant that Danmag would join the Northern Grienzen League, though the exclusion of the Kiersto-Karpanian Dual Empire meant that this would give too much influence to Preusvia. Others assumed it would lead naturally to the formation of a new political union between all the Grienzen states, which begat confusion when Preusvia did not dissolve the Northern Grienzen League. This uncertain state of affairs would soon escalate into a new war. 
==Kiersto-Preusvian War of 1866==
=== Lead Up ===
The confusion over the future of Danmag played out with increasing Kierstian insistence upon their right to claim the two territories. While Preusvia had profited by annexing some of Nordia's southernmost land, Kierstia had received nothing for their contribution to the war. It was with this in mind that Emperor Ludwig IV of Kierstia claimed Dansvig as a Kierstian province in early 1866, and began to move soldiers back there to oversee the transfer of governance.
This was a direct contradiction of the terms by which the Grienzen states had agreed to intervene in the affairs of Danmag in the first place, and threatened to undermine the entire reason they had fought Nordia in the first place. King Walter II of Preusvia went before the Northern Grienzen League to garner support in condemning Kierstia's actions, and they drafted an ultimatum which insisted Kierstia stop its expansionist aims in the Danmag region.
Emperor Ludwig IV was incensed that his claim was being contested, and refused to recall his soldiers back to Kierstia. Instead, they prepared for a war and the call went out to any who would ally against Preusvia to draw up arms in opposition to the leader of the Northern Grienzen League.
=== Lines Drawn ===
As with 17 years prior when the Northern Grienzen League had been formed, Bayernia, Gerde, Sachden, and Hugelket all sided with Kierstia. On top of them, Lower Luthairingia and the Lesser State of Schlussfalen also sided with Kierstia against Preusvia. Lower Luthairingia was predominantly Synenolic and as such preferred Kierstia over Church of Unity dominated Preusvia. Schlussfalen had been the home of liberal politicians and reformers ever since the 1849 Summer Revolts, and they joined Kierstia out of a fear of Preusvia's growing power.
Every other state sided with Preusvia, including the Rhein Province, Upper Luthairingia, six of the other Lesser States, and theoretically the provinces of Dansvig and Schleissmag, as they were once again being defended from an outside conqueror. Realistically, Danmag did not contribute much to the war, as they were still recovering from the battles fought on their territory two years prior.
=== Carnage ===
This war proved far more deadly than the campaign fought against Nordia two years earlier. Due to the staggered battle lines, combat broke out all over Grienzland as states raised and marched armies, only to be beset by those of their neighbors.
Lower Luthairingia fielded several divisions, which were swiftly attacked by an army from Upper Luthairingia right on the border. The Lower Luthairingian army was crushed and forced to retreat, camping further south only to be ambushed by an army from the Rhein Province which destroyed it so totally that it dispersed without ever reaching Preusvia or Kierstia.
Hugelket was the northernmost ally of Kierstia, and as such it was one of the first to fight the Preusvians. Unprepared for any serious resistance this early into the war, Preusvian General Andreas Meier had sent his vanguard around the west of Hugelket with the intentional of encircling them to force a swift surrender. To his great surprise, an army with double the strength of his forward unit attacked and defeated his men, before the rest of his soldiers could arrive to complete the encirclement. Once encircled, Hugelket surrendered unconditionally, before the Preusvian army could enact any retribution.
From there it was nothing but continuous victories for Preusvia as it headed south. The army from Sachden provided the strongest resistance, even going so far as to abandon defending Sachden's borders so as to link up with the Kierstians to defend a fortress town in the north of Kierstia. But Preusvian superior rifles and artillery proved too much to resist, and the Northern Grienzen League's focus on mutual defense ensured that their transportation infrastructure was far superior to Kierstia's. Again and again the Preusvians bested the Kierstians, either by outmaneuvering them, blasting them out of fortified positions, or simply winning gun battles through higher fire rates and better accuracy. Even the help of Karpanian Half-Horse lancers proved useless as the faster-firing Preusvian rifles were able to fend off cavalry charges. By the end of the war, the Kierstian army was in complete disarray, incapable of anything more than ineffective last stands of isolated groups of resisting soldiers.
Another, smaller Preusvian army headed toward the southwest to deal with Bayernia, meeting the single army it fielded to aid its ally. This clash was almost comical due to the ineptitude of the Bayernians, who had not prepared their logistics ahead of time. As such, the Bayernians had been caught with hardly any ammunition. While they fought boldly at first and even managed to ambush the Preusvians, when their rifles ran empty they were forced to run. The supply depot they were retreating to came under fire from Preusvian artillery, causing a further retreat without managing to resupply. Finally a third conflict ended in the Bayernian army fleeing all the way back to Bayernia, where they sat out the rest of the war without helping.
=== Aftermath ===
After proving beyond a doubt that Kierstia could not win against Preusvia, King Walter II offered his Kierstian counterpart extremely generous peace terms. Emperor Ludwig IV begrudgingly accepted, as his country lacked the financial ability to raise another army due to Kierstia's suffocating debts that had lead to wanting to annex Dansvig in the first place. As a result, hostilities came to an end and Preusvia was able to lay out its terms of punishment unopposed.
Despite this position of ultimate power, Preusvia did not severely punish its enemies. King Walter II wanted to see all of Grienzland united, and as such he knew that vindictive treatment of the other states would only incite resentment rather than a willingness to work together. As such, the only state that was severely punished for its actions was Hugelket, which Preusvia annexed as one of its territories after the war.
Sachden's bold performance during the war had impressed Preusvian leadership greatly, and as such it was not only passed over for any indemnities, but was rewarded with some of Kierstia's bordering territory. This was in lieu of Preusvia taking any Kierstian land, and the arrangement proved far easier to stomach for Kierstia since Sachden had been an ally.
Aside from that, all other Grienzen states were required to join the Northern Grienzen League for the mutual defense of Grienzland. Bayernia refused and was allowed to pay an indemnity instead, though this was later waived and no money ever delivered. As a result of this merciful treatment, Bayernia later decided in 1870 to join the Northern Grienzen League in a united Grienzen Defensive Alliance. It was this combination that Gallia faced when it launched the Gallo-Preusvian War mere months after Bayernia joined.
For its part, Kierstia was treated with an unusual amount of generosity. Aside from the transfer of a small amount of land to Sachden, they were only required to pay reparations for the soldiers their army killed during the battle. Such terms were unheard of in Uropan conflicts, and it was with a clear mind toward building a better future and ending the cycle of retribution and grudges that King Walter II went to such lengths to ensure Kierstia would not feel slighted after the humiliating and total defeat.
The chaos after the defeat however did grant opportunity for Seruiani rebels to reclaim much of their territory that had been annexed after the uprisings in 1849. This would pave the way toward even greater breakaway movements to follow, which would hasten the collapse of the Kiersto-Karpanian Dual Empire in 1883.
Category:Lore