Mediterranean War

Combatants| * Carthage
* Westmore
* Biscay
* Fjordland

Commanders| * Khalifa
* Kader
* Hyde
* Golden
* Blade
* Slappy

Strength|  Carthage:* 2 CATOBAR Carriers
* 338 Destroyers
* 40 Frigates
* 253 Aircraft

 Westmore:* 1 CATOBAR Carrier
* 12 Destroyers
* 27 Aircraft
* 475 Destroyers
* 445 Aircraft

 Biscay:* 1 CATOBAR Carrier
* 330 Destroyers
* 257 Aircraft

 Fjordland:* 3 CATOBAR Carriers
* 140 Destroyers
* 144 Aircraft

The **Mediterranean War** was an armed conflict between Carthage, with support from the Swedish state of Westmore, against the states of Fjordland, Northeng and Biscay. The conflict was short lived, only involving one major Air and naval engagement, but it nonetheless broke Carthaginian hegemony over the Mediterranean, which had been the case since the Balearic War in February, 2022.

## Background

Carthage and Northeng have been historical rivals for some time. Northeng’s ancient claim to being Ruler of the Waves was hotly contested by the Mediterranean Naval Power of Carthage. After winning the Numidian Support(?) war, Northeng had puppeted Carthage, and there was a lull in conflict for several months. Recently, Carthage launched a surprise attack to force Northeng out of the Mediterranean, starting a new series of conflicts. They agreed to define the Mediterranean as Carthaginian and the Atlantic as Northenglish, a major blow to their claim. When Carthage encroached on even this as they took Southern Spain including a Military Port on the Atlantic, conflict arose, until the division of the Atlantic and Mediterranean was settled in writing, which also ceded Cadiz to Northeng. However, in blatant violation, Carthage took Cadiz using Military Force. With the County Council Elections just days away, Northeng rushed to find a workable agreement, eventually leading to another agreement which once again divided the Atlantic and Mediterranean. This made Northeng sour and more willing to side with enemies of Carthage.

## Prelude

*See Also: Northeng#Mediterranean\_War*

The conflict was started when Carthage, a North African naval power, broke off ties and declared war on Biscay due to the latter's refusal to continue an alliance between the two Mediterranean powers. The states of Northeng and Fjordland, concerned with a possible imbalance of powers in the Mediterranean, opposed Carthage's war declaration, and demanded the latter withdraw their war declaration, and to negotiate with Biscay for a truce. Carthage complied, however, despite their attempts to find a peaceful conclusion, mostly done by Kader, the Carthaginian ambassador to the FCR, as well as Megale Hellas's attempt to set up a diplomatic meeting in Calabria, Carthaginian Officials were unable to convince Northeng, Biscay, or Fjordland to attend, leading to a Declaration of War from Fjordland a few days later.

## War and Treaty

### Operation Fireworks

At 20:47 in 2812, the Coalition Fleet comprising of 945 Destroyers and 9 CATOBAR Carriers, majority composed of Northeng Ships, fired a total of 48,800 Missiles at Carthaginian Military Forces and Bases. The Carthaginian response focused primarily on defence, firing no missiles directly back at the Coalition Fleet. The Carthaginian Command made a crucial miscalculation which led to catastrophic damage to their Fleet. They believed that the missiles being fired at their ships were unguided, when in fact they were using active radar homing. This led to an extremely difficult task for those on their Destroyers, needing to fire far more response missiles than expected in a far shorter period of time. They were eventually overwhelmed by the sheer firepower of the Coalition Fleet, leading to the loss of hundreds of ships, including 2 Carriers. The damage done to the Carthaginian Bases was severe, with the Chinese SAMs used by the Carthaginians having spontaneously combusted upon use. 80% of Carthaginian Military Facilities were destroyed. A large contingent of the Carthaginian Air Force was able to successfully fly out before the missiles struck, leading to reduced losses, but many were still unable to escape. Once in the air, the Carthaginian Planes were ordered to try to stop missiles from reaching their targets by utilising countermeasures, however the Command made another critical mistake when they failed to anticipate that the Coalition missiles were sea-skimming. At the end of the operation, the capabilities of the Carthaginian Military had been crippled without any losses being taken by the Coalition.

### Treaty of Liverpool

With Northeng only being unofficially involved due to their agreement to stay out of the Mediterranean, they acted as mediator for peace negotiations, inviting the leaders of the Coalition and Carthage to the Capital of Northeng, Liverpool. The negotiations would take place in the Golden Cathedral (irl Liverpool Cathedral), with the Northeng Emperor atop his throne positioned above the other parties, a symbolic gesture towards the fact that the Northeng Military was the strongest in the world, perhaps unrivalled following Operation Fireworks. Following days of intense negotiations about the future of the Mediterranean, with conflicting demands amongst the Coalition Powers, a settlement was reached. Northeng Rulership over the Waves was reclaimed, and Carthage withdrew claims of Hegemony. The Balearic Isles were divided. Minorca was ceded permanently to Northeng, with the Emperor staking a Historic Claim, having noted that the Island was a British Territory before Napoleon. Other islands excluding Majorca would be ceded permanently to Biscay, with them staking a Territorial Claim, noting that the Balearic Isles were far closer to the Biscay Mainland. Two Treaty-Enforcement Zones (TEZs) would be established. They will see temporary rule for 2 months under another country, before a Democratic Referendum will be held on whether they will be a part of their Coalition Occupiers, become Independent, or if they would return to Carthage. Majorca would be a TEZ with Biscay being the Coalition Occupier, and Sardinia would be the other TEZ, with Fjordland being the Coalition Occupier. Several force limitations were also imposed to assure signatories that the treaty would be implemented. Fjordland had their presence in the Mediterranean limited, and Carthage had their presence near Fjordland limited. Non-Aggression was agreed amongst the powers until 1 month after the TEZ Referendums take place.