The Great Dytovan Refusal

Background
In 1954, peacekeeping forces from Bakia and other Coalition nations began to withdraw from Skalan. Although the Skalan Territories had nominally formed a functioning central government as an independent state at the close of the Lilac Wars, this government’s reach and effectiveness were not yet solidified, and the Skalan President had relied heavily on Coalition forces to maintain control and order in his disparate provinces. The withdrawal of those troops brought significant instability to the region, particularly given the lack of support for a unified Skalan among its neighbours. The Republic of Dytov, among others, had refused to recognize the legitimacy of the Skalan government from its onset, and several internal Skalan factions also continued to actively resist integration into a centralized regime. Skalan therefore quickly became the focal point for a variety of competing interests which had previously been held in at least partially in check by the presence of Coalition soldiers.
In June 1954, the Empire of Adamar sent troops to Skalan, ostensibly to help restore order and fill the gaps left by the Coalition withdrawal. However, Dytov saw this move as a power play for Skalan territory, and relations between Dytov and Adamar became increasingly strained. Additionally, tensions between the two grew further inflamed as Adamar and Dytov each began to support opposing sides in the ongoing Inter-Abermian War. With the withdrawal of Coalition troops and oversight, the stage was set for this conflict to spill over into Skalan as the two nations sought to establish themselves as the dominant regional powers in eastern Ardenica.
Lead-up to war
In November 1955, the Republic of Dytov closed its borders with both Skalan and the Empire of Adamar. Dytov also began massing troops along its south-eastern borders, and moved to increase its naval presence off the East Ardenican coast. Fearing a Dytovan invasion, both Skalan and Adamar began partial mobilizations along their borders and demanded that Dytov withdraw its excess troops from the region. Dytov refused, and tensions continued to build as Adamar and Skalan sought defensive pacts with neighbouring states.
On February 28th, 1956, surface forces of the Adamari Navy, apparently operating as part of a joint training exercise with Zarbo ships, encountered and engaged in an altercation with a large Dytovan fleet near the edge of Adamari territorial waters. In the resulting battle the Adamari battlecruiser Galta and several escort ships were sunk, but the Dytovan fleet suffered devastating losses. Casualty estimates vary, but even conservative reports indicate that Dytov lost over two-thirds of its surface naval assets in this one engagement.
Dytov immediately condemned the attack as an unprovoked act of aggression against its vessels travelling in international waters. Adamar, in turn, claimed that the Dytovan fleet had entered Adamari waters and refused to divert from a course towards the Adamari coast. Adamar also published images and details of Dytovan marines captured amidst the wreckage from the engagement, allegedly part of a seaborne invasion force. Dytov categorically denied the existence of any such force or plan to invade Adamar, but with both sides adamant in their version of events, diplomatic channels quickly broke down and on March 5th Dytov officially declared war against the Adamari Empire.
Hostilities
Immediately following its declaration of war, Dytovan troops crossed the border into Skalan and northern Adamar. In response, both Pontus and Zarbo entered the war on the side of Adamar and sent troops to reinforce the front lines. Even with this opposing reinforcement, Dytovan troops gained ground, and Adamari and Skalan forces were pushed back in heavy fighting. At the southern tip of their advance, Dytovan forces overran northern Skalan and approached the Shrine of the Emperors in Eastern Adamar. After 8 months of grinding combat, the Adamari front line seemed on the verge of collapse.However, in early 1957, the tide of the war swung in Adamar’s favor. Adamari forces and their allies were able to halt the Dytovan advance through a concerted defense around the Shrine of the Emperors holy site, then countered with a strong advance in the north with the help of a recently-arrived Gondar armored division, accompanied by the first-ever combat deployment of Adamari paratroopers. With Skalan forces pushing west in a coordinated assault, the attacking forces encircled the entire Dytovan 5th Army in their positions around Abfrea. Adamaris remember this moment as a heroic national feat of arms, but also as the triumph of Emperor Haakon who personally led the defence of the Shrine to the Emperors and galvanized his troops to victory. Pressing their advantage, Adamari forces launched an ambitious push into Dytovan territory after breaking through the front line, eventually pushing all the way to the city of Inve on the North Sea. This thrust completely cut Dytov off from its neighbour and ally North Abermia, and further stranded large numbers of Dytovan troops who had moved east earlier in the war.
With the bulk of its forces cut off or surrounded, and with Adamari forces poised to seize further Dytovan territory along the north coast, Dytov had little choice but to sue for peace. In December 1957, a peace summit was convened in Kenshi with representatives from all belligerent nations in attendance. After two weeks of negotiations, the participating groups reached an agreement to end all ongoing hostilities. The resulting treaty encompassed both the war with Dytov and the Inter-Abermian War, as the two had effectively become combined over the course of the fighting. With the approval of the assembled nations, the treaty came into effect on New Year’s Day 1958, bringing both wars officially to a close.
ImpactThe impacts of the war with Dytov have proved arguably more significant than the events of the war itself. With the signing of the treaty, Ingenia, North Abermia, and Inner Abermia all returned to their prewar borders, receiving few immediate changes beyond ending the direct conflict that had engulfed those nations in the preceding years. Dytov, however, was forced under the terms of the treaty to cede territory to both Adamar in the east and Skalan in the south. Dytov further agreed pay war reparations to Adamar, Skalan, Pontus, and Zarbo over a period of five years. The territory gained by the Empire of Adamar comprised the majority of Dytovan lands captured during the war, including the coastal city of Inve and all Rassto territories east of the Aglov River. A demilitarized corridor was also established between Dytov and Adamar in the former Dytovan region of Rassto Koblish, further reducing Dytov’s size and proximity to the Abermias. However, Adamar agreed to maintain an independent corridor along the highway between Dytov and North Abermia, allowing those nations to continue non-military trade. This left Dytov reliant on a single corridor through Adamar to reach its biggest former ally and trading partner – a situation that, combined with the war reparations, left Dytov in an economic crisis from which it has yet to fully recover.
In the political upheaval following the war, both Dytov and North Abermia also underwent dramatic changes in leadership. The wartime government of Dytov was overturned in an emergency election within months, and the former military government of North Abermia fell shortly thereafter in a coup led by the charismatic Dytok Rhay – a coup which enjoyed the incidental support of the Adamari Air Force. The demilitarized region of Rassto Koblish also held a referendum to join their kinsmen under Adamari rule in 1960, with the stipulation that the new Rassto province retain political autonomy. Thus the Adamari sphere of influence in East Ardenica expanded significantly, while Dytov was reduced on virtually all metrics by a significant margin. The Great Dytovan Refusal is therefore currently considered one of the most significant events on the East Ardenican continent since the end of the Lilac Wars.